


Children of R'lyeh, Act IV: Invokers

by Vosh



Category: Cthulhu Mythos - Fandom, Cthulhu Mythos - H. P. Lovecraft, Furry (Fandom), cyberpunk - Fandom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:46:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 37,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25225543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vosh/pseuds/Vosh
Kudos: 1





	1. Prologue: Gods Revisited

[Demons from the Dark](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgUafsJfbcc)

_**Prologue: Gods Revisited** _

_They say the forerunners of R'lyeh are extinct, that our 'Gods' were nothing more than beasts we all derived from. Forefathers in other words. Scriptures, carvings, paintings and all tell of them ceasing physical existence, claiming that their presence and fear they induced was so great that it is scarred into our genetic make up, that we are bound by fate to live out the curses they seemingly brought about. Of course, these are nothing more than tales we've been told and shown since the dawn of a more...structured society._

_We Ngirrth'luin...we are a strange breed. Derived from the twisted god of the hunt, some of us even continuing his violent trends and traditions to this day. The animals they've become...those are the ones who would never reach enlightenment. However, I say that with the loosest of definitions. Others call it 'ascendance', with few knowing of and proceeding past such a thing to what has most recently been called 'transcendence'.They are not wrong in believing this, however. Much like the lost and forbidden scriptures I have spent numerous turns studying, 'enlightenment' is not something just anyone should seek._

_I was always told that as a scholar of the Ngirrth'luin I needed to numb myself to anything that involved Ngirrth'lu or any of the other Great Old Ones that have, may have or still may live, for I was to be just that: a scholar. A twisted term that simply meant 'keeper of knowledge' not the truth. A position given to those of a once thought to be deceased bloodline, a rare treasure the elders did not want exposed to the dangers of the outside world. A privileged child that could do as they pleased so long as it was behind closed doors..._

_...and that privilege has led me to what I have found: salvation. The Great Ones never died. They never abandoned us. They never left our side. We as a culture, as a city, R'lyeh as a whole...! We abandoned them. We cast them aside claiming that we need not follow them anymore. We, infants to them, are nothing more than subjects to them now because of our actions, our sins! All of this was revealed to me when I finally was able to gaze deep into the eyes of him, the one that set all of this into motion. The one who sleeps in the deepest part of our half-sunken city, below even where those 'sharks' call their territory. He is the one from whom we all come from, our true forefather._

_I was once told that I had a brother. Whether that was in spirit or a physical absolution, I do not know. I would not doubt him being long gone or even deceased by this point. Males of our kind do not last long. We are a people of war, of battle. We spar as pups and duel to the death as adults to settle differences. But these things I have only read about. I was not raised in the Brood Tower with my generation, but I heard stories of how it was raised with twin 'alphas'. Such a lacking term for the children of a twisted figure. I would have liked to meet them, but I enjoy my knowledge and sanctuary more._

_In due time, I will be free from this place. I will be able to delve deeper, reach out and perhaps escape this city so that I may tell others of what I have learned. My dedication to you shall not be in vain. I now know why you sleep, why you allowed me to reach you, why you chose me. I must be like my brother, reveal you when the time is right once more. I...am your Harbinger._

_'Cthulhu fthagn', but not forever. You will have your time again..._


	2. Invocation

[Aspen](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKuIUY_FJzA)

_**Chapter 1: Invocation** _

Deep within the city of R'lyeh lies a building only accessible to a select group of individuals who have been deemed worthy enough to walk its halls, examine the interior of what most assume to be a prison. A shelter for those who have either committed a great sin or shown signs of treachery. Where those who are considered of lower blood are thrown to as a punishment for simply living. The elitism of those who walk the roads of R'lyeh freely, who roam without limits, who can engage in day to day life as a normal living being without question, “...those are the ones I wish I could be like...” a mellow voice drowned of any happiness lowly hummed from deep within, though to those who might have caught the sound it would seem like nothing more than the natural draft breezing through and out of the windows from which it came.

From outside, however, a crowd had begun to form, taking to either side of the moist stone road as they chattered amongst themselves. They had every right to question aloud as they witnessed one of the Elders clad in his gray trimmed, black garb slowly limber towards the entrance of the place they knew simply as 'forbidden', its doors guarded by two seasoned Alphas, champions of a past war now sworn to watch this place till their ends were met. They towered above the hunched over old male, their breaths heated more than usual as shown by the steam that streamed from the cracks in their jowls due to their overgrown teeth pushing through, “You two young ones have...changed. Since the last I witnessed you, anyways. Tell me, have you felt it?” the Elder asked, his face mostly covered except his wrinkly muzzle that seemed to show a slight smirk, or frown depending on the individual's perspective.

For a few brief moments the two guards simply looked down, breathing intensifying as they attempted to retain their composure. However, the Elder male was correct. There was a presence they felt ever since the single still sane prisoner was placed into that strange room, “Why was she not given a cell like the others?” one of the Alphas questioned as he opened the doorway for the Elder male, causing a cold yet damp breeze to force its way out of the entrance.

A hissy chuckle emitted from the old male's maw, dulled teeth showing slightly before he slowly stepped through, “There are things even the pure-blooded like yourselves could never comprehend. You are Alphas. You lead by force and example. You are prime examples of what every Ngirrth'luin pup should strive to be, even if it seems hopeless...” he began as the doors began to slowly close behind him, “...she is a Scholar, something even more rare and possibly more dangerous than you all. Do keep yourselves in check. Ascension is closer than ever for you two. I would hate to issue an order for you to die honorably in the Arena.” With that, the doors shut, only able to be opened from the inside now, the sound of the wood and steel doors shutting echoing through the nearby roads and alleyways until silence fell upon the area once more. The two Alphas looked to one another one last time, their egos deflated for once in their lives as they began to realize that it truly was not them who determined the fate of R'lyeh anymore.

Within that forbidden shelter the Elder began to proceed through the murky, candlelit hallways, each step gently echoing off of the moist stone walls. Majority of the cells within this place were unused. They never had been used nor would they ever need to be. It was a ploy to trick the guards and others who may visit or become curious of this place's interior. In fact, this place only truly held one 'prisoner'. As far as others were concerned, this place was nothing more than a prison for the damned when in fact it was a library of ancient and forbidden knowledge. Within the deepest parts of this place a Scholar was forced to live once they were of age, one who was capable of properly deciphering and informing the Elders of anything that could be used to push Ngirrth'luin closer to freeing themselves from the hold of their gods.

Deeper and deeper the Elder male journeyed until he happened upon what others would simply conclude as a dead end. This was merely an illusion, however. Without a second of hesitation he limbered through to begin descending down a case of wooden stairs, his steps echoing the sounds of boards creaking throughout what was slowly beginning to be revealed as a large atrium, its walls lined with seemingly endless amounts of books, parchment and scrolls with only a minor fraction of them looking to have been touched, let alone opened. And at its center on the mat covered floor kneeled a single entity whom the Elder approached slowly, speaking as he did, “And how is this particular day going for you?” he asked as he halted his steps to look around at the individual's progress. Along with the littered books and scrolls were carvings and markings written in paint in the old tongue of their people, symbols representative of two particular Great Old Ones.

“I...” she began in a quiet, almost shaky voice. A few moments passed before she gained enough composure to speak once more, the silence almost deafening after her voice's echoing ceased, “I-I...” she stuttered, head drooping forward with a bit of sniffling. She was garbed in traditional robe presented to young Ngirrth'luin, though unlike those who roamed above, the trim of her robes were not decorated with anything. She had no story as far as anyone may have been concerned, a heavily kept secret from the masses, her generation, but most importantly the other Elders.

“You stutter too much, child. Speak or remain silent,” the Elder began once more, his voice beginning to shift to something more sinister, almost reverbing over itself as it echoed off of the walls of the atrium, “Tell me, how much have you discovered, delved into. What secrets have you to reveal to me so that you may be part of society, a greater one in which we are freed of our shackles to the Great Old Ones.” He began to pace around the area, examining what had been looked into or perhaps caught her attention. From what he'd seen, it was apparent what had caught her attention, “You insolent child...”

“I have no idea what to do, father! You left me here to...t-to read, to look into all of this as if I'm some sort of Scholar!” she exclaimed, hunching over in agony as she fought back tears, “Everything I've read called to me. I couldn't ignore it. You told me- you warned me of this...! I don't know what to do. His voice, I hear it. It won't cease, it won't let up. His voice and will scratch at the insides of my mind, father! Please...help me...!”

The Elder remained quiet for a few moments as he thought over the situation. Even to his misfortune, most definitely to her misfortune, this was a curse his lineage was plagued with. He'd lost his firstborn to this most dreadful condition, and now it looked like there was little to no hope for his second child, “...I cannot. As an Elder of our people it is my duty to ensure that our society as a whole is able to progress and sustain. I'm so sorry my child-”

“Why don't you address me by my name anymore! I'm not a tool, father! You did this to me. I...I-I'm cold here. Alone, afraid. His voice, father...!” she exclaimed once more as she wrapped her arms around herself, falling forward onto the rugged ground as tears began to stream from her hidden gaze, “Please, don't abandon me like you did Alix, father. I can prevail...I just need-”

“You need nothing but to let fate do as it wills! Perhaps I have suppressed it too long. You tell me you hear his voice, that it pains you, that you fear him, his will, but yet you fail to realize that is only the case because you fight back!” the Elder male roared as he pulled back his hood that covered his face, revealing blackened eyes that never seemed to end, no sign of sclera existing, no pupils, no irises, “This is the fate of our bloodline, Arri! It would have ended with your brother, but complications were met. You will finish what I and your brother started. I awakened him, I am part of him, and now you will free him as your brother was unable to fully do!”

The Elder straightened himself out, revealing that the hunched, aging appearance was nothing more than a trick that he and other Elders used to hide their true physical conditions. Bones cracked as his spine straightened out, growling emitting from his muzzle before a scream echoed. Behind him, wings of a nature not natural to any of those not of Alpha blood surfaced and tore through his robes. Decrepit limbs that hung from his back at all times, flightless and used as nothing more than to show that he was not only Ngirrth'luin, but a Deep One in servitude to a god whose name was forbidden from even being mentioned within Ngirrth'luin society itself.

Arri, as her father finally exclaimed for once, continued to look away. She was frightened. She didn't want to look at the monstrosity that was her father. No, this couldn't have been her father. Not this twisted being that loomed over her. This was not the old man she knew, who visited her to show that he still cared even if he was indifferent. The screaming in her head intensified. The etchings and marks she'd made in this prison beginning to blur and glow of a strange green. The putrid scent of rot and brine began to fill the room, ooze beginning to seep from the markings she'd involuntarily created on the floor and walls, but most importantly the ones that were scarred into her paws began to as well, “No...no, no not again! I was so close!” she exclaimed. The world around her began to dissolve to nothing, the area turning to a black void, “Cthulhu, please not again! I can do it, I promise! Just don-”

* * *

“...-'t you even think of giving me that crap again, you stupid, smelly ass, forsaken damn badger!” exclaimed a familiar voice from the base of the center tower on Level 13. Obviously something had occurred that would cause a voice to echo out of its steel walls into the streets, “If you think for one damn second that _I'll_ be paying for damage to _my_ property that _I_ didn't even cause, you have a whole 'nother world to be visiting in the next few minutes, mister 'Scoc Eximiatate'! Is that even a real fucking name?! You sure you didn't just make that sh-”

“Look, either you pay for the damage or you get evicted from your workshop because you refuse to pay this tiny ticket you were given not for the damage itself, but for making it worse from body slamming an _Enforcer Trainee_ , not a full on officer, but a _trainee_ Vosh, into your shop's one large window and somehow managing to break it!” the badger retorted with a growl, though his body language gave off a different vibe as he lounged back in his comfy, padded chair, “50NC, Vosh. That's it. That's my final offer before I have an eviction vehicle go and collect everything you own because you refused to pay this small ticket for your horrible temper.” This had obviously been going on for more than a few moments now. From the subtle claw markings on his desk to the more than obvious line of others who were here to possibly argue their situation the same this girl had been, this wasn't his best day, “Now take it or-”

Before the badger could even finish getting in the last word, Vosh had already slammed onto his desk her Novan Credit chip, her arms crossed as she huffed and looked away. She obviously had the money. She had a very successful business here on Level 13 with her workshop that specialized in small hover transport and other various technologies. What bothered her is that she was paying for damage to her property that she caused because she simply did not like Enforcers snooping around her work, especially without warrants. Okay, maybe she had overreacted when that trainee got wide eyed at the sight of her little personal project, but still, “Hurry the hell up, badger. I have stuff to do, places to be. Y'know, something you idiots who got sucked into working for that woman can't do.”

The badger snarled a bit as he took her chip and placed it into his computer's payment processing slot, letting the machine run its process while he returned to his unamused antics, which now included twirling a stylus in his free hand while the other continued to act as a rest for his head, “Now was that so hard, Phantasm?”

“Don't call me that, badger.”

“Would you rather me call you Voshy?”

“Only if you'd like to see yourself slammed into that desk of yours, badger.”

“Is that all you can call me?” he asked as the processing came to a finish, “You can't even call me by my name? I thought we were cooler than that, Vosh.”

“Your name is stupid. Your job is stupid. _You're_ stupid. Give me my chip already, you damn badger.”

“And there you go again...” he sighed as he tossed the chip at her, going back to his stylus twirling and head resting, “A pleasure doing business with you again, again, again Vosh. Try to keep out of trouble and maybe I won't have to deal with you causing a line to build up again, again, again.”

The Ngirrth'luin took a look over her shoulder to examine the line he'd mentioned. Of course it didn't bother her. All the more reason to convince him to just let her slide next time, right? Probably not, but still the thought made her smile a bit as she took her credit chip and self out of the entry where everyone was lined up, shoving her way out just to boost her ego some more.

It wasn't long before someone got fed up with her little attitude, however. As she approached more open space she began to feel as if someone had been following her. The foot steps sounded familiar, almost too familiar. She continued, albeit slowly, walking only to slowly come to realize that it was her own heavy boots echoing off of the iron side walk. She smacked her own forehead without hesitation, leaving her to wonder why she'd done it as hard as she did while groaning and rubbing it.

With that behind her now she made a hard left into one of the many alleyways that were both hidden and obvious in this multi-storied city. Now that she thought about it, the entire city was similarly mapped out from bottom to top, only changing in size with very minor differences on each level. Namely due to residence and the varying businesses, but definitely similar for the most part. The ground here was wet for some odd reason, “Hmph...looks like someone's gonna need my handiwork soon,” she grumbled to herself as she kicked her boot into a small puddle. Most people here had trouble with plumbing nowadays, especially here on Level 13. This place wasn't necessarily the slums, but it was close enough to them that those from there tended to eventually settle in and begin ruining simple apartment complexes like the ones that towered above her.

How she wished she could eventually move into one of the more central, prestigious complexes without any help. She'd been offered the money or even a place in general but decided against it. She didn't want to have stuff handed to her just because of her bloodline, being the daughter of the Head Councilor. That day she'd woken from some seemingly endless nightmare was the first and last day that she'd properly spent living with her mother, and as much as she wanted to make it last she knew it wasn't what she wanted. She dreamed about leaving R'lyeh on her own with her brother, establishing their own names by their own doing and earning their way up. The sad truth is that she was technically 'royalty', and in order for her to denounce that she needed to give up everything and start from the bottom.

The alleyway was much larger and longer than she'd anticipated, not to mention that the water didn't seem to really go away, “Seriously, what a bunch of slobs,” she commented a bit louder, and it had obviously caught a resident's attention as she heard a hydraulic window push open.

“Beat it, freak! It's enough we have to deal with your people comin' down and harrassin' us outta our old places!” the angry male exclaimed as he attempted to throw a bucket of water down onto the Ngirrth'luin. Luckily it was from high up enough to allow Vosh to step aside and only feel a minor splash onto her face, though the attempt still bothered her greatly.

“I haven't done shit to you, dude! Seriously, was the water really damn necessary? Seriously, is all this your fault? Don't make me climb up there and show you-”

“Alright, calm it down, the both of you!” another voice, feminine in nature, shouted from behind the Ngirrth'luin girl, “You, up there! Close your window and go back to whatever it is you do. As for you,” she began as she stepped closer to Vosh, hands shoved in the pockets of what looked like some dingy lab coat, “What are you doing wandering alleyways again, Vosh? I've been looking for you since you left the Central Tower. It's not often I catch you outside of your workshop, hell, just catch you in general. I was hoping we could, maybe, I dunno...hang out? For old time's sake?” the female asked as she stepped out from her hiding place.

Even for seeing someone she'd not seen in a long while, it didn't change the fact that she always seemed to have that unamused, snarky look on her face, almost as if she was annoyed to see her best friend though that clearly wasn't the case. However it was always hard to tell with her tone, “...you know I had a feeling someone was stalking me this entire time. You couldn't just come out and say, 'Hey, grouchy bitch! It's me, Sofi! Your best fucking friend in the world since we were like...grubs! Yeah, sure, let's go with th-”

“Sshhhsshshshshsh!” she exclaimed as she pressed a metallic, augmented arm against Vosh's muzzle, muffling her voice, “Seriously, people are probably sleeping at this hour, Vosh.”

With a growl the Ngirrth'luin pulled the Thresher's arm away, mocking her words visually with her free hand and lips, “Since when do you care? Don't you work as a 'scientist' for my mother now? What are you doing down here? Seriously, what are you doing down here? I thought you hated Level 13, with your pompous, prestigious attitude and fancy lab and exceptionally well paying j-”

It wasn't long before Vosh felt a cold metallic fist playfully punch the side of her face, forcing her to snap out of it, “Look, a lot has changed Vosh, and not necessarily for the better either. You're right, you have every right to question me visiting down here. That I don't blame you for. But before I get to even explaining what needs to be explained can we please just hang out like two good friends one more time? And I...I-I don't mean like that one time. On your birthday. Long time ago.

The two of them stood in awkward silence for a few moments, staring at each other looking somewhat embarrassed. This was more than likely one of the more awkward and strange silent interactions they'd had in awhile. Both of them seemed to be thinking back to that night.

“...” [Vosh]

“...” [Sofi]

“...okay, okay, alright. Drop the damn memory already. I'm trying hard as all hell to.”

“You say that like it's such an easy thing to just forget, Vosh!”

“Well it should be if you, I dunno, thought about other shit for once. I won't deny that we're still...friends...but-”

“Okay, now you're the one getting emotional and mushy here!”

“...can...can we go? Wherever it is you wanted to take me or whatever. To hang out. As best friends, nothing more, nothing less.”

“Oh, right,” Sofi snapped back to reality as she tapped against her augmented arm, causing a holographic map to pop up, multiple red colored 'alerts' showing up before she navigated through some more, trying to hide them, “Ah, here we go. It's uh...back at the Central Tower. Awesome little diner-”

“I hate diners...”

“...if you'd let me finish for once you would've heard me explain how it's a diner inside of our old hang out spot. You know, that one club that got shut down because the last guy to perform on stage was also trying to hack into the city's power grid on the low to turn it into his personal light show?”

“...didn't he get away with it?” Vosh asked as they began to walk back to the Central Tower, “He did get away with it. I could've sworn he did. Unless my memory is faulty and you-”

“Countered his attempts remotely, yes, I stopped him. It's the reason I was there that last night. Yes, I was on an assignment. No, I didn't enjoy it. It would've been cool to see the city turned into a giant DJ stage, but there was no telling if his actions would've caused the grid to shut down afterwards and allow something else to follow up or even use it to gain access to valuable information. You know how tech-heads here can get now. I probably would've been one of them if I hadn't met your mom through you. Seriously Vosh, just let her-”

The Ngirrth'luin growled lowly as she shoved her shoulder into the side of her taller friend, “No. Hell no. I want to do what I shouldn't have to do, and that's work to my success. Sure, your talents are better suited for what you used to do, but for me? What would I have gained out of having things handed to me? I'd be just like my little sis. Speaking of which, haven't seen her in a long while. Probably all prettied up or something now, with how old she probably is now. I stopped keeping track of how we age. She's probably comparable to like a 14 year old now or something, I dunno...”

“But anyways,” she continued on, the Tower now within view once more as they exited the alleyway back onto the main road's sidewalk, “Why'd they change the place into a diner? Seems kind've out of place. Maybe some kind of food court or fast food bar would've been a better addition rather than a transformation.” She'd crossed her arms, showing that the thought of her favorite place to go out to and relax was no longer a thing, though the raised brow of the Thresher indicated differently.

“You're a horrible, horrible pessimist, Vosh. They didn't change it, they remodeled it. They needed to. Not only to make it more attractive to a larger crowd, hence there being an upstairs lounge and restaurant, but to up the security of it. Had to give it its own power source and whatnot, all that jazz. That's all I managed to really dig up, though. It could be a completely different place like you're assuming,” she explained, hands shoved back into the pockets of her old, torn up lab coat, still stained with the many chemicals and bases she used to work with.

It wasn't long before they'd reached the main entrance, somewhere far off from the office Vosh had visited to pay her dues. The doorway was very foreign to the both of them, remembering that there wasn't really a proper entrance back when. In fact the previous iteration was designed to give off a grungy, underground feel. The fact that it had a proper entry way gave off the feeling of it being a higher class, proper club with people and attitudes to match now, though the music they were hearing faintly said differently, “Okay, so...after you, m'lady,” Sofi mocked as she opened up the right door and mimicked proper etiquette in order to tease her friend. Without a doubt it worked as Vosh scowled and pushed her way through the left door, leaving Sofi behind a few steps, “...grouchy bitch.”

“And don't you forget it either, robo-fish,” Vosh called back as she rested her hands on top of her head, though they slowly slid down behind her head and down to her neck over time. Her heavy boots echoed in the hallways against the metal walls which already had tasteful art graffiti'd onto them, “I mean...it almost feels like it used to. But everything seems so new, especially the wall panels.” Her comments were agreed with by Sofi who'd finally caught up and was walking beside her. The closer the two came to the actual club portion, the louder the music became, and the more common sights of people hanging in the halls like posers became.

“Seriously, move, idiots!” Sofi exclaimed as both she and Vosh began shoving their way through the pointless crowds in the hall. What was the point of coming here if they were just going to hang out here? Some were obviously trying to cop feels as well, made evident by some trying to grab at both of their rear ends, causing two patrons to already be knocked flat on their asses before they'd even actually stepped foot into the club. And by the time two had already actually set foot into the actual setting of the place, they were already seething with anger, both stomping there way to the stairway that led up to the restaurant and lounge portion of the club.

Without even considering that there may have been a wait, the two disgruntled clubgoers planted themselves into a both seating themselves across from each other, heads now both planted into their arms that they rested on the tabletop. Moments later they were greeted by some semi-scantily dressed waitress, possibly fitting the theme of the club as most of what she wore, like their own clothing, was lined or illuminated with LED-like lights, though much cheaper looking than their own gear, “Well you two look like you could use a pick-me-up! What can I get you two cute ladies?”

“Out of here,” said Vosh.

“The old place,” commented Sofi.

“Mm...well unfortunately none of that stuff falls on our menu so...” she immediately slammed onto the table two menus for the two grouchy attendants, forcefully sliding the menus under their arms so they could see the list of items without having to move their heads, “And here I was thinking that you two would never come back after that incident on your birthday, Vosh. Glad to see you two again, but seriously drop the attitudes. I already had to explain why you two shouldn't get kicked out for forcing your way in and seating yourselves like you did. Don't want another strike for the night.”

“Why does your voice sound so damn familiar?” asked a muffled Vosh from her still-laying down position, refusing to look up.

The waitress had already shifted her weight onto her left leg, hand on hip sighing as she had to remember that these two tended to forget simple things such as an individual's name, “...seriously? I mean I can understand you forgetting, Vosh, but you Sofi? You can't even remind her of your own girlfriend's sister's name?”

With that question alone, Vosh's head shot up from its laying position to examine who exactly their mystery waitress was. Needless to say, it caught her by surprise to see another one of her kind here, though it was becoming more and more common to see them even at Lower Levels such as 13, “Dude...since when were golden-yellow Ngirrth'luin a thing?” she asked as she looked the girl up and down, though it was clear she had no intent beyond just examining her out of curiosity.

“Ever since genetic mutations between identical twins in the womb became a thing, Vosh. You'd know that too if you looked at yourself in the nude,” she commented a bit more aggressively, even kicking Vosh in the shin out of spite. Needless to say it made Vosh whine and growl as she held her leg in pain for a few moments. The waitress then placed the palms of her hands onto the table with a slight slam, “Xena, Vosh. My name is Xena. Xelki's sister. Seriously, I feel like you remember her name more than mine even though I'm pretty sure Xelki hung out with your brother more than you. It explains why she works as an Enforcer. I'm just surprised your brother doesn't. And yet here you are back at this club...well, not back, more like visiting the new place because it's what you're into-”

“You kicked my fucking leg, you slut!” Vosh exclaimed, though it was drowned out by the sudden beat dropping from the DJ's set. Strangely enough all it got out of Xena was a smirk and shrug. Sofi continued to remain quiet, knowing how embarrassing it was for her to admit that she forgot the girl's name even though she sees her more often than not, “Geez...” Vosh whined some more before fully recovering and turning to examine the menu, trying to determine what she wanted, “...what the hell is fried...fried...”

“Fried garsch? You don't remember eating that as a pup? Well it wasn't fried when we were young...”

“...oh...oh! Oh, yes. That- no, two plates of that, a large pitcher of Novan Cola. And whatever fishbreath over there wants,” Vosh said as she slid the menu back over towards Xena, already licking her chops in anticipation of her meal. Meanwhile, across from her Sofi slowly lifted her head up from the table, an upset expression showing.

“Surprise me, just bring me something strong to drink with it, Xena,” she requested as she too slid her menu towards Xena, causing her to finally smile contently.

“So three orders of fried garsch, an extra, extra large Novan Cola and the Club Special. Sweet, so I'll get this stuff into the chefs and they'll have it done soon, girls. Don't get into any more trouble, please,” she said with a slight growl as she walked away, only Sofi making the effort to try and slyly look at her outfit from behind, only to be denied as Vosh kicked Sofi's bare foot. The shark hissed angrily before letting it go and resting her head on her hands, held up by her elbows which rested on the table.

“I'm not sure how I feel about this place, anymore Sofi,” Vosh began as she leaned back into her booth seat, hands resting behind her head in a reclined position, “I mean, don't get me wrong. It's nice and all, and the music's great, but it just doesn't feel like that place we'd use to escape the city, you know?” She'd always had a preference for grungy locations, this club having been one of them in the past, “This is just another case of the city wanting to 'standardize' living, even on the Lower Levels. Hell, I've seen more upscale model living complexes erected around my shop than I have seen businesses. In fact, most everything revolves around the Central Tower now. Even each Level's Metropolitan Shopping Centers are slowly turning into ghost towns that, if it all follows the same pattern, will end up being 'standardized'. You get what I mean, right?”

Sofi simply sat there smiling, as if in slight awe that Vosh had even taken the time to think that deeply about something so simple that she knew the answer to, “I forgot how cute you were when you start talking as if you're extremely knowledgeable of situations, but I can see what you mean. You're not wrong, but you're also not right. This city, despite its young age Vosh, is quickly being outdated. Last I looked into it Head Councilor Vythica had sent 'scouting' parties to other cities way out wherever, y'know those mercenaries your brother is in charge of? Not to cause trouble but to lend 'help' to those places, but also take note of their design. You'd be surprised by what they've found,” she explained as she began tapping on a holokeypad that phased into view from her augmented arm, “Look here, images I managed to snatch from their databases. Everything looks way different, right?”

On the image that'd began to display was a city as advanced or beyond Novus City. The materials and technology were much further along, though there was something obviously wrong with the image, “...Sofi, this city isn't built on stilts like ours,” Vosh commented as if she wasn't amused by this foreign city's designed, “It's flat, built onto the ground. How is this more advanced aside from the few different gizmos I see?”

The Thresher gargled in frustration as she pointed at the image, “Look closer and stop overlooking details. This place is a ghost town, despite the technology,” she continued as she began scrolling through images until she came across a video that began to play, “Look at this footage from your brother's shoulder cam, maybe this will get your brain working for once.”

The video began to play, though at first it was out of focus. As the feed slowly began to refocus the images of the city she'd seen pictures of began to make more sense. The sounds of not only her brother's boots but another's clanging against the metal road and sidewalk echoed through. The wrapped arms of her brother could be seen as he handled his rifle, lifting it up to rest on his shoulder, holding it with a single arm before he began to speak, _“This place is a ghost town, Sam. There's absolutely no one here. Pretty sure we'd draw some kind of attention if that weren't true.”_

 _“You're such a damn pessimist, Ventus. Have you tried knocking for once? This is why I'm the thinker between the two of us,”_ a more feminine voice fed through the mic, causing Sofi to roll her eyes as if she recognized the voice, _“Look, try this place. Looks like it might've belonged to someone of higher status.”_

 _“What makes you think that?”_ he asked as the two of them walked up to the door of the house. She wasn't wrong, however. The two of them looked the place up and down, trying to determine what kind of person might have lived here. It was oddly quiet, though, _“You think they might have some kind of panic room? Way too quiet for a large residence that may be occupied.”_

 _“Could be a possibility,”_ she commented as she slung her own rifle behind her and approached the door to knock on it, revealing that she was the same species of shark as Sofi. Her knuckles were only inches away from doing so, however she stopped short of actually doing it, _“...something doesn't feel right to me, Ven. You mind doing it? I'm not scared or anything, just something feels very, very off here.”_

The Ngirrth'luin sighed a bit as he himself approached the door and, with a heavy, gloved fist pounded against the door, _“Hey! Anyone home?”_ he exclaimed before waiting about a minute or so for a response, _“Anyone here at all?”_ he shouted once more before placing his hand where there would normally be a bioscanner of sorts to allow access to private residence such as this. He was quick to become suspicious when he realized there was a lack thereof. Without another moment wasted the well sized male kicked the door down with a heavy booted, padded armored foot, causing the alloy door to fly back against the wall behind it, the crash echoing through the home and out into the streets.

 _“Ah, fuck! Really Ventus?! Kicking down a door to get in? When'd you resort to being a savage again, geez!”_ the female Thresher exclaimed as she slung her rifle back in front of her, trying to get a view on all points around them in case her partner's actions might've caused a commotion to begin. Luckily that wasn't the case as both she and Ventus slowly made their way into the place. Their journey inside didn't end up being very long, however. Almost immediately they began seeing carvings and spray painted images of things they didn't think imaginable. Not any more, anyways, _“...Ven, you're seeing all of this, right? Isn't this what the exodus was about? To put an end to this stuff?”_

The Ngirrth'luin remained quiet as he approached one of the more recognizable painted images. Nothing needed to be said from that point on. It was an image of a Great Old One, Cthulhu to be specific, however badly imaged it was. Other images around included various depictions of sacrifices, slaughter, kidnapping and badly carved summoning circles. A loud snarl came from the male before he quickly turned to Sammy and gave a few hand motions to signal them both to get out of the living space immediately, which they both did with haste, _“Gonna have to explain this to the Council now..._ ” he commented lastly before the video finally cut out.

The holodisplay finally faded out, allowing Sofi to rest her arm in her lap with the other one, “Not sure if you remember anything about what they saw, Vosh, but I'll remind you anyways-”

“I don't need any reminders or history lessons, Sofi. Look, I know you invited me here to actually show me this stuff now, okay. But I don't want to be involved in anything that revolves my peoples' ritualistic traditions or fucked up past. Take your theories to my mom or, I don't fuckin' know, Ventus. Who was that other fish, though? Kinda cute,” she joked as she sat herself up, resting her head on her hands as Sofi had done before.

The Thresher remained quiet for a few moments before playfully smacking Vosh's snout, “That was my younger sister, you hormonal bitch. And no, you can't meet her. Ever since this incident she's been busy working with Novan authorities alongside your brother in order to try and track down if any signs of that have arisen here in Novus City,” she explained, eyes now idly drifting around to examine the clubgoers. The two of them stood out plainly against what was now considered the 'norm' for attire in a club now. Then again, the 'norm' always shifted with the current fashion trends.

There was a sudden growl that sounded almost foreign that echoed beneath the two of them, with a sort of low, distorted tone. The two looked at each other, as if trying to determine what it was. It became obvious that it was Vosh's stomach churning from hunger after she started groaning and wrapping her arms around her exposed midriff, “Nrrgh...this food's taking too long, Sofi. Bug them or something. This was your idea, and a terrible one at that!” she exclaimed as she slammed a gloved fist onto the table, causing it to shake which was odd due to it being made of a heavy metal alloy, “You suck, Sofi...”

While the hungry Ngirrth'luin rambled on due to a somewhat empty stomach, because goodness knows she probably ate not too long ago, Sofi's focus began to zero in over the ledge of lounge area, taking note of everyone down below. Something began to become apparent the more she watched. It was more than something, however. Her attention slowly turned back to Vosh who continued to rant, “Vosh, shut up for one second,” she ordered slightly.

“...what did you just tell me to do, fishbreath?” she asked with a threatening growl.

“I'm serious. Listen to me. I know your people are very cult-like when it comes to your culture. And from what we saw from your brother's camera, well...do you think it might be possible that someone or something else might have started something up based on your peoples' behavior?” she questioned with a serious and concerned tone as her vision looked back down onto the main floor, “Think about that for a second for once.”

Vosh narrowed her eyes a bit, thinking that the Thresher had tried implying she was stupid, but she did begin to think on it. For once she had to agree on something with Sofi. It wouldn't be uncommon for other Ngirrth'luin to start their own 'sects'. There were many other Great Ones to follow under, most just chose to follow under Ngirrth'lu himself for obvious reasons. She couldn't deny it. She and Ventus used to follow when they were younger out of having no one else to really clutch onto aside from their Caretaker.

It just seemed very unlikely, though. Why would anyone want to develop a new sect, a new cult under another Great Old One when that is exactly what her mother's mass exodus was about? It wouldn't come as too much of a surprise to think that some who lied in order to just leave joined her, but with how things were for them now here in Novus City it seemed very unlikely that those people would follow through. She began going into deep thought, it showing not only in her facial expression but her body language as well, causing some concern to arise from Sofi.

“Um...Vosh? You alright? You're kinda looking like you're lost in thought.”

“Shut up, I'm thinking for once, damn it. And it's working. You're right, something is off with this stuff, and I don't mean the smell of our meals being cooked either,” she commented as she took notice of Sofi's line of sight, trying to follow it, “You're the one that seems awfully lost though, Sof. Scoping someone of interest out, or found another good looking clubber?” she asked as she took notice of one particularly fishy looking patron down below near the entrance to the place. The strangest part was that they seemed to be looking directly up at them, a hood covering most of their face with only a frowning muzzle showing. Without hesitation Vosh jumped up from her seat and immediately went to approach the hooded figure, Sofi following suit as they left their booth.

The two rapidly descended back down the stairs before their waitress could even return in time, “...I fucking quit, seriously!” exclaimed an upset Xena as she tossed the order she'd brought to the girls' table, sending it flying back towards the kitchen and receiving some verbal punishment for it, “Yeah, yeah, strike three, go home! I get it!” She'd shouted in response as she went to pick up the mess she'd made.

Meanwhile down back below Vosh had already began physically interrogating the hooded figure, grabbing at their hood and pulling it down over their face despite them having a height advantage, “What the hell are you doing here?! Did you follow me? Please don't say you followed me, or tracked me, or asked mom...seriously, don't say anything. Just leave!” the Ngirrth'luin alpha shouted into the covered face of her seemingly helpless victim. She was stopped before she attempted to punch them as Sofi interfered with a sigh.

“...this isn't the place to discuss this nor cause anymore commotion, you two,” the Thresher stated in a calm, professional tone, only letting go of the hooded one to allow them some space.

“Agreed; Level 5 you two. As soon as possible. There are things that need to be discussed,” the hooded male spoke, made obvious by his tone and peculiar accent, “It's...good to see you again as well, Vosh.” There was no response to him aside from a double flipping of the bird from the girl, the three of them moving soon after.

* * *

She continued to watch from her seat, her very R'lyehan-esque 'throne' that was placed near the center of her chambers, able to access whatever she deemed necessary in a moment's notice. Holomonitors circled her as she rested her hand upon a balled, armored fist, a look of utter disgust plastered on her face as she examined what each showed her, “My work is being reversed by her in the slowest of manners...” she spoke to seemingly no one, only the sounds of a separate bodied grunt and sigh echoing from either side of the room, the dark, damp room.

In her lap, however, rested the small bodied, albino child everyone had come to known for her harmless antics throughout the city. The free hand of the older figure rested on the child's head, gently scratching behind her ears that poked through the slits in her coat's hood, allowing her to rest easy. The relaxing motions would only last so long before the elder spoke once more, that same free hand lightly punching the arm rest, “I fail to see why his bloodline is entitled to do this. They are not true 'Scholars'. They cannot be. We waited too long when we were there for one to arise, only to see his firstborn be driven to madness. Of course he was part of our generation...but that's besides the point. This one, however, seems determined to re-enact what he did, but here. In my city. The city I helped rise to what it is. Our people's city...”

“You seem to talk more than take action nowadays, Vythica. Were you not given your title much like I was given mine?” the rough, low voice of one peculiar character echoed from the dark near the edge of her chambers, “Perhaps it is time to stop trying to be the political type.”

Vythica sighed with a slight chuckle, knowing that they were possibly right, however, “As much as I wish I could do such things, Reaper, my fights actually took a toll on me. I was never meant to be an aspiring warrior like yourself. My stature and build, despite my lineage, are not what are desired. Plus,” she continued on as she stood up, placing the albino pup on her seat, holomonitors flickering off and on until they vanished completely, “Why should I? We have the Enforcers. We have our own specialists we can each utilize. I have you, my right hand, and him, my left.”

She began to pace, her unique coat and robes gently dragging along the stone flooring, “I will take action in person if it so comes to it, believe me. But until that moment arises you and I shall watch from here, or closer by. I know you do not like to think from the political side of things, or the moral side for that matter, but imagine the thoughts of our people and others who live here what my sudden appearance may say to them. There would be pride, yes, but there would be worry, confusion, and most importantly fear. The one thing our Elder Gods took advantage of in us.”

Her pacing stopped as she smirked, though she never made any indication as to why she did, “You should know that for a fact, seeing as you are of a more...primitive iteration, you ancient artifact. No offense to you of course, but you are a piece of our people's history at this point, and there's no one else I entrust to work by my side than the woman who helped save me from the brink of death, as well as a true symbol to what our people could have been. Which begs the question I've asked you multiple times before, because you never seem to want to give me a direct answer,” she began as her head suddenly snapped to face the dark where she knew her right hand waited, “Why did you deny the opportunity to become an Elder, to change things from the inside?”

In the dark there was silence, no movement. At least until two deep, blood red rings showed themselves glowing, indicating that she'd opened her eyes to stare directly back at the half-masked Head Councilor. She did not answer, however. She did not need to. The fact that Vythica had chosen to ask bothered her because it was not out of curiosity that she did. No she did so to spite her, to try and rile her up to want to take action on her own. The taunting chuckles of her friend echoed throughout the chamber as well as in her head. This was her version of a mental check mate, and why she'd risen to lead their people as she did then and even now.

“Your silence speaks for you, Reaper,” Vythica commented as she moved away towards what would appear to be the back of the room, picking up Ashir from her throne along the way. A door would slide open with a hiss, slightly waking the child up, “If you'll excuse us, we have important business to attend to. Family business...” She stepped through the doorway, the metal door sliding shut behind her and leaving her hands to the dark as usual, both grunting in response.

Her footsteps were not light as they usually were. Despite even wearing the attire that was hidden beneath the guise of her robes she was generally able to mask the sound of her footsteps. Much like anyone in this time and age she'd adapted to wearing boots or other footwear in order to make the trek across stone and metal more comfortable. And if anyone knew better than her, it was the troublemaker rebel child of hers. The day she awoke was the last she'd seen of her in a long while, so when she was silently alerted during her talk with Reaper that her daughter was making her way up along with her favorite ex-Agent and him-...she did not want to think too deeply on it. The father of her children, her lover, her husband...he did not want it made apparent that it had happened.

His past had left him scarred permanently, physically and mentally, much like herself when she'd encountered those she had long ago. The history the two of them had was more than simple fate. With her being the one to lead her people from oppression and he being the one to free their minds, it was destiny. And now he guided their firstborn towards her after all this time, “You're in luck, Ashir. Your sister is visiting for the first time since she's awoken. I'm sure that excites you doesn't it, little one?” she asked sweetly as she stepped into the elevator that would lead them to the base of her spire, down to the wet roads of Level 5.

Meanwhile within the heavy cart that rapidly ascended the elevator shaft to Level 5, a sort of conflict had broken out, though it was apparent that it was coming to an end. Within the arms of Sophie was an arm locked Vosh who continued to try and kick out at the hooded figure that waited on the other side, “Calm it down, Vosh,” she stated with a stern, cool tone, “He's not here to cause you any trouble. Obviously you wouldn't have followed him here if you didn't trust or know him!”

“He's an asshole that needs to have some sense beaten into him, Soph! That's why I followed him,” the Ngirrth'luin girl continued to scream as her kicking continued. The hooded figure merely sighed, turning his attention to the holopad that showed their progress, “See, look at him! He doesn't even care that I'm threatening his life!”

“It is not my life I worry about, Vosh. It is your life, you brother's life, your sister's life and...your mother's life. I suggest you listen to your friend and ca-”

“Sophie isn't in charge of me, old man! I'll beat her ass too if she thinks otherwise!” The kicking and screaming continued on and on for a few minutes until the extremist tired herself out finally. By that time they had already arrived at their destination, the elevator coming to a slow before suddenly halting in place, “Where the hell did you guys lead me?” she asked, catching her breath while continuing to be arm locked by Sophie.

“Enforcer HQ, state your reason for being here,” a voice boomed through the cart from the various speakers that were apparently installed just outside of it, “I'll ask once more, state your reason. Enforcer HQ, let alone Level 5, is restricted territory. If your being here was a mistake please wait while we-”

“Authorization code 2021...” the hooded figure stated reluctantly, him looking away for a moment as if it meant something to him, “I did not have the time to inform you ahead of schedule about my two guests, once of which you may or may not recognize. The other is...important. I'll also need to access the upper floors of your building. There are others I need to visit.”

The speakers remained silent for a few moments before booming once more, “...2021 huh? Important business it must be for you to leave Level 5 suddenly. Well we gotcha, old man. Try not to scare anyone this time, alright?” the voice stated with a slight sigh. Before long the doors of the cart slid open with a slam, a hiss coming from each side as the system used to hold them shut tightly as they were recharged itself.

The trio began to move forward, Vosh suddenly moving from her silly tantrum to interest as she took in the view of just the entrance to this place. Sophie, however, kept her focus straight ahead, following the hooded figure. Slowly she'd begin to realize who he was, though she kept it to herself. There was no need to make a scene here. Their walking had them moving past many offices, some designed for planning and observing, others for interrogating, while others were locked or blocked off. However, each time they passed one it seemed as if some sort of affirmative howl sounded from behind each door, “These poor souls. I only wish I could have done something, allowed to do something. Things have changed since then, young ones. In the near future perhaps...” the hooded male mumbled to himself. The girls ignored it as best they could, but with the little history they knew about, they were somewhat aware of what he could have possibly meant.

They soon approached the base of a set of stairs that led to a floor above, and whatever floors were below, though the set leading up was guarded by two fully uniformed and armored Enforcers, both Ngirrth'luin and unwilling to budge despite the authority the hooded male apparently had here, “Hold it right there, old man. What's with the guests? You know the Chief doesn't like our kind snooping around up there,” one of them stated sternly, hands folded across his armored chest, “Plus there's important business being discussed up top. We already had to let two Ngirrth'luin through, why should we let two more? Let alone an ex-agent. This just stinks of fishy business.”

“...was that a fish joke?” a rather annoyed Sophie asked, staring directly into the eyes of the one that'd had the guts to make it, her eyes glowing oddly as she began to flash her sharp teeth, “Because if it was I won't hesitate to force us in there and beat the 'Chief' until he agrees to can you two. Or I can just beat the living crap out of you two here and now!”

The two guards looked to one another with a sigh, reluctantly stepping aside. The trio didn't hesitate to move on and up, only Vosh lagging behind as she looked the two up and down to examine the upgraded armor and padding they wore now in comparison to her old, worn out stuff, “So, uh...you guys got any spare sets of that stuff lying around?” she asked with a cheesy grin, knowing well what they'd say or respond with, “...no? Alright then, guess I'll have to sneak in when either of you two shower and snatch it when you're not looking. Maybe towel whip you two just to make it interesting, I dunno. You two suck, I'm going!” A wide grin had formed on her face as she took off sprinting up the steps, leaving the two guards both annoyed and paranoid. They recognized who she was, which linked back to her history. She probably wasn't lying.

By the time Vosh had caught up with the other two they'd already walked into one of the rooms, most like the Chief's, but which was it? There was a huge hallway of them here, and only three of them seemed active at this time, “Geez, you could've at least shouted or something...” she grumbled to herself as she slowly strolled down the hall, heavy boots echoing against the whitewashed metal walls from her stomping against the odd stone flooring. As she finally approached the door which she assumed was where the other two had gone, seeing as the door was labeled with some important, military-like jargon, she couldn't help but catch sound of whatever was going on behind the door across from it, “...sure they won't mind if I take a detour.”

She double-took between the Chief's office and the door that caught her attention, just in case someone decided to come out and drag her in. No sign of any of that meant she was free to sight see now, and sight see she did. Without even thinking of the consequences, Vosh immediately approached the door and stood in front of it. Within seconds the door slid open with a hiss, no access needed apparently. But rather than wonder why she simply shrugged and walked in, the sounds coming from the place becoming louder as she made her way in until it was clear that the noise was music. Very, very loud seemingly historic or ancient music playing, “This is what happens when'ya let me dig into the archives, Ox!” the voice of a younger, almost feminine individual shouted out from somewhere deeper within what was beginning to feel more and more like a database or warehouse of sorts.

“You say that as if I don't expect it, Molly. You also say that as if I wasn't already aware of these kinds of things having been stored from way back when, as if I hadn't been the one to find it in the first place, as if-” a more masculine, yet socially awkward voice explained from about the same distance, cut off as the feminine one spoke once more.

“But I thought ya'hated this song, bro!”

“I do! It's attributed to that old movie with whoever that human was, flying around those explosive, hazardous bombs with wings! I can see why the song was called 'Dangerzone'!”

“How'd ya'know the song title?!”

“I'm not explaining it again, Molly!”

It seemed as if she'd walked into the wrong place for once in her life, but at the same time it felt so right. She'd never heard this song before, and it _was_ catchy, but maybe it was best if she explored quietly. With that in mind, she continued to slowly stroll further in, taking note of what was being kept and stored here. From the usual collection of old tech, to the more obscure storage boxes. Things felt a bit ominous here, however. She wasn't one to really believe in relics of the past giving off strange vibes, but as she approached on particular item she couldn't help but feel that way.

It was encased in a box, but for some reason she could feel some connection to it. In fact, the closer she approached, the darker it began to feel around her general vicinity. Her heart began to race, thoughts began to fire off in her head, “What the hell is in this...” she mumbled to herself as she reached out to grab the object. The closer her hand came to grabbing it, the stranger she felt, “This doesn't feel right. Why can't I stop?” she thought she'd said aloud, but in reality she'd remained quiet. A growl could be heard, followed by a deep, ominous wale before finally she felt as if she was thrown back by some strange force, a scream echoing through the area as she too screamed in fear.

However she was not thrown, but pulled, and by quite the large bodied person if she said so herself, at least in comparison to her five foot, four inch stature. And they obviously had a superior amount of physical strength over her. Well, most anyone did, but this was beyond what even she was aware of, “Snooping around, yet you didn't alert the two tech-heads over in the corner. This is why only authorized personnel is allowed up here,” the voice of a stern, confident male spoke behind her as she felt herself lifted up by her crop top, however uncomfortable that was, “What exactly is the infamous troublemaker daughter of the Head Councilor doing here in my archives, let alone Enforcer HQ?”

Now that she'd caught on a bit, she became aware of who it was that was holding her like a misbehaved child. She folded her arms across her chest as she felt herself turned to face him, not too surprised to see the recognizable glowing, silver-blue gaze staring directly into her odd eyes, “Well if it isn't Hunter. How've you been, sir? That is how I should address you now, right? Sir? Because you're the Chief of the Enforcers now. Get it? I hate you. Put me down,” she kicked lightly at the male, knowing well that she was out of her league if she ever tried to get into a direct conflict with the guy, “Please?”

The staring contest continued for a few more moments before Vosh was set back down onto her feet, causing her to shake and dust herself off as if she was offended that the large, cloned descendant wolf of an ancient 'hero' touched her, “Don't _ever_ grab me again, alright?” she asked rhetorically as she took a step towards the ominous object once more, immediately being cut off as she bumped into and nearly tripped over a child sized girl, though she was sure she was a child by the looks of it, “...wha- who? Who the hell are you? And why are you shorter than me? Are you like...twelve? Okay, twelve is mean. Thirteen?”

The short girl stared up at Vosh with an offended expression, small hands balled into fists as a set of six mechanical, propulsed wings sprouted from something on her back, causing her to float up and meet eye to eye with Vosh, “I'm seventeen, ya'dumb broad! And I'm only so small because I'm not like either of'ya!” the girl exclaimed as she pushed her face closer to Vosh's, “And don't think I won't fight'ya either, punk.”

“Molly, what the actual hell are you trying to get into now?” the voice of the male she'd heard earlier blurted out as he came approaching in a light jog, “Oh, for the love of-...Molly, cut it out! It's enough that you had me listening to that song, now these two _and_ you're trying to pick a fight with one of those things!” he exclaimed, smacking his forehead, “I'm sorry if she's bothering either of you. She's been a bit rambunctious since developing this newfound confidence out of nowhere. Hasn't exactly provided any benefit to either of us, only gotten us into trouble, which is why we're here working for Enforcement now, despite them chasing us down since we were kids. Isn't that ironic? Don't answer that.”

While the nerdy looking male who still hadn't even introduced himself continued to talk and ramble on, Vosh had fallen into a bit of a standby. This guy was painfully familiar, and so was his sister. The expression that had formed on her was that of confusion, yet intrigue. Where did she know these two from? Could they have been a known DJ duo? Convicts? Definitely not the latter. The girl was way too young, at least she looked that way, “...and to be honest, I feel as if you're ignoring me because you seem caught in your own thoughts, however...” he continued on still. Was this really the kind of conscript the Enforcers would hire? He seemed like he'd be better for legal work with how long he rambled on.

But it soon began to come to her where she recognized these two. There were only so many things she remembered from that apparent coma she'd fallen into, that she was told about but it felt like nothing more than nightmarish nap. Without even thinking too hard on it, something slipped from her maw in a sudden outburst of, “Oxye?” she asked, confused as to how she even knew the name, “Or...was it Oxavier?” Then the room was silent as the slender male tapped a few buttons on the strange, augmented gauntlet that was wrapped around his left arm.

“...you know my name, yet I haven't even introduced myself. Very well, it's true, I am Oxye. And for both of our sakes don't use my full name,” he began as he took a few steps back, reaching back over him to grab the strange box that rested on the metal shelving behind him, “And you're Vosh of the Phantasm lineage, born in the apparently lost and sunken city of R'lyeh, daughter to the one known as 'The Vorpal' and the only known survivor of a direct mental assault from a Great Old one. Tell me if I'm wrong so far.” His body language shifted. He no longer gave off the vibe of a timid, socially awkward tech-head, but rather a person who delved deeply into history for the sake of others.

“Call me strange for doing so, but I've been researching your people, their history, their patterns in addition to my daily activities, one of which you might remember awhile back to when 'The Warehouse' was still a grungy club and hangout. I'm sure you remember, when that one DJ tried wiring his light set to the city grid? That was me. Maybe you recognize me from that time,” he spoke, holding the box in front of him now, “Or perhaps being around this has allowed you to invoke something from your past, however painful it was. Now I'm not a believer in fate or destiny, that there are some unexplained powers that have no actual influence outside of chance, but now that I think about it perhaps there's a reason the old man led you here.” He took a deep breath, pressing two fingers into each side of the rectangular box, causing two extremely well hidden pressure switches to depress inwards with a hiss, “I hope you don't mind my modifications to it. It was in poor shape when I found it while rummaging through the ruins on the surface. Wasn't easy bringing it back, either, not while the faint hallucinations of a little girl's past kept appearing in my own vision, nearly drove me blind. Luckily I know ways around it,” he said with a slight smirk, handing the case to Vosh as he pointed to his right eye as well as both of Molly's.

She hesitated for a few moments as she began to feel those strange, dark urges once more, however they soon faded as the case opened up, revealing what was inside. Something she lost long ago, something she kept on her person since the day she'd been given it as a comforting object and heirloom. She couldn't really bring herself to speak as she set the case on the floor and held the thing in her hands, running her fingers along the sheath that been designed to hold the newly restored, enhanced and augmented blade that once rested with her every night. Though she could not physically or mentally recognize it when she apparently was trapped in that coma, for some reason she always knew it was there beside her until all things seemed to turn for the worse within that nightmare, “...where did you find her? This is my...from when...how did you find her?” she questioned as she continued to hold the weapon with both hands, gently grasping around it as she held it closer to herself, “I had a feeling-...”

“That it was Animus?” a familiar voice echoed from behind her. By the time she'd finally turned to face who it was, Hunter, who seemingly loomed over her, was gone, replaced by the hooded male that now stood in the door way, arms held behind his back as he slowly stepped towards her, “That is part of the reason why I had you follow me here, Vosh. The other...” he began, making a quick motion towards Oxye who quickly complied and began to project a screen above himself from his gauntlet, it quickly tuning out from whatever it was broadcasting before to a sudden interruption, an emergency broadcast, featuring the half-masked face of the Head Councilor, “...your mother can explain to you, to us, to the rest of those willing to be part of the solution.”

The audio of the broadcast was coarse at first, full of static as it seemingly fought something else in order to stay online, “Citizens of Novus City, and I mean _all_ citizens. Something has been stirred from slumber by a certain somebody. Those of you who are aware, this city's success and growth is due in part to the union between those who existed before and after my people made the decision to join this great society to push it beyond its limitations, to create a new civilization of order, peace and prosperity. I am sure many of you do not see the purpose of order,” the voice of the Head Councilor boomed through the entire city from every linked television, monitor and projection that was wired to the city's network and grid, the broadcast continuing to fight back whatever persistently attempted to interrupt it. The broadcast then turned to a video feed of what she continued to speak of, “But the remnants of ritualistic behavior and unwanted history have risen, despite our efforts.”

The broadcast cut in and out for a few moments, displaying the face and image of another who covered the upper half of their face with a hood of sorts before tuning back to the Head Councilor's display, “For those that have been recently forced to move into higher Levels, understand it was out of necessity, not oppression, that your lifestyle has had to make a sudden shift. Levels 15 and 14 are now locked down and condemned until the ris-...-blem has been isol-...fear not, Enforcem-...-ready initiated protoco--------------”

The broadcast was finally cut off entirely, leaving only a blank display for a few moments until the silhouette of the mysterious, hooded figure slowly faded back from the static. The marks on their muzzle were unnatural, almost ritualistic and remnant of scarrification tattoos, a similar process that Vosh took with her own scar. The figure continued to stand still, an almost ominous feeling beginning to eminate from her, as odd as it might have been to even think coming from something that was simply a digital display. The camera slowly began to pan out from the figure's face, revealing others that stood beside her and before her, all holding their arms forward, palms faced outward in the direction of the hooded figure before they themselves did the same, only something was different about their palms. Upon each center pad was scarred one half of a figure's face that only those who were aware of him could recognize. The scars were black, as if tainted or rotten.

The figure slowly lowered their arms down once more, the others who could be called 'followers' at this point suddenly reaching out towards them more desperately, but never trying to actually physically make contact. Some began to cry, others howl and some even begging as they reached up to pull their hood down from atop their head, revealing that she was indeed Ngirrth'luin, albeit of an unknown archetype. Her face was void of any true emotion, as if she'd been drained of any while she did this, “Citizens of New R'lyeh, you have been...lied to. You have been told that this 'city' is built upon the value of unionship between Ngirrth'luin and any of those that existed before. That is false!” the mysterious girl screeched, the sound able to be felt by any with sensitive hearing throughout the city, “You have been blinded to history, to the Truth! Your existence here is not a coincidence, but a gift from him, the one true Lord!”

Her words echoed sharply through any and all speakers, howls from many able to be heard suddenly, “Celebrate in light of this Truth: You are all R'lyehian. Do not think that you are below those who have established this so called 'Society' you live in to be the ones in control! You have roots as deep as ours, use them, join me in the pursuit of the true justified cause in taking this city back for yourselves and for your generous Father, the one who allowed you to flourish in this world without inhibition!” Her arms were held out wide before suddenly clapping themselves back together to form the decrepit face of a Great One that even the most devout not speak of again: Cthulhu. The camera slowly zoomed back at the face of the mysterious girl, her eyes slowly shifting to seemingly stare at the hooded male that now stood behind Vosh, “Cthulhu fhtagn, I will finish what you could only begin...”

The broadcast shut off for good, leaving the group gathered in the metal storage room in silence, not even the original broadcast made by the Head Councilor able to come back. The siblings stood in fear and confusion. Vosh gripped the sheath and hilt of Animus tightly, the synthetic material her gloves were composed of able to be heard grinding against them. The hooded male remained silent, stepping forward as he motioned at the two frail ones, a sudden wave of calm taking over them before he slowly turned to face Vosh. A bandage wrapped hand reached up to slowly remove the hood from his head, revealing his face, scarred similarly to the girl who interrupted with such propaganda, “...Vosh, I'm sorry for asking this of you, but as your father and a broken man who most wants to see this city live on after the mistakes he's made in the past...I need your assistance.

She did not respond, only gripped her blade more tightly as she scowled at the male, snagglefangs baring as she emitted a short growl, only to close her eyes and take a deep breath. She placed the weapon near her hip, it magnetizing to her utility belt, only a simple nod given from her. This was the beginning.


	3. Hollows

[I Never Knew](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00Ci_O-tmnU)

_**Chapter 2: Hollows** _

“They were never like this, you know. Mindless, deathly loyal servants to a leader. He bred this through the use of Harbingers,” the voice of Alixandr echoed through the hall as he and Vosh slowly paced their way through, “I would know this personally. And seeing as you are my child, I can assume you'd like to think it my fault, which I do not blame you. I was once one, but at the same time I was not. The life of our people is strange, you of all Ngirrth'luin should know, considering you fought back Ngirrth'lu's onslaught of mental attacks for half of your life.” Vosh didn't respond, only the sounds of their footsteps able to be heard as they continued walking along the R'lyehian stone flooring, “That blade of yours is key to this, as are you. Now come, this way. There is much that needs to be discussed.”

That was one thing she hated about him. There was always something that needed to be discussed, needed to be talked about, taught, anything to talk her down into trying to believe any of his false stories! Or so...at least she wanted to think them false. The truth was always something she continuously denied. From what she could remember from her childhood, she always remembered that she was rebellious, refused to accept society for what it was, what her people were and what they did. She'd heard stories of other places where things seemed strange, but oddly normal in comparison to what she knew. Now that she had it, she didn't want to accept the past, “...where are we going, old man?”

“Have you been daydreaming this whole time? These are the halls to the Council's Chambers, or so they used to be. It was decided long ago that a Council was no longer needed, but a leader was to remain. Those who were once Councilors still remain here, but work independently from one another. Only she is able to decide their work proper to implement,” he explained as he came to a halt in front of a pair of large, heavy metal doors, Vosh following suit as she examined his composure break a bit, “This is it. Only a select few are able to be recognized by the door's-” his explanation was cut off as the doors hissed heavily, sign of a closed environment behind them before slowly sliding open to reveal a dark, damp room, “She was expecting us...”

As they entered the unsettling silence began to set in. This was the chamber that housed the head of this city, this strange paradise she'd come to know and appreciate, yet at the same time despise for its dystopia. This was supposed to be a haven after all, or so she at least heard and was taught by these two. The two of them stepped slowly into the large room that remained in utter darkness, the two giant doors slamming shut with a heavy hiss behind them. She wanted to make a comment about the environment here being so artificial, but that thought was soon lost as she heard the sudden clash of two metallic objects crash into each other, sparks suddenly igniting in what may have been the center of the room.

“Your footing and prowess are overpowering as ever, Reaper. But remember, you can only think so many steps ahead and only a single path. Do not think to get in over your head because your target is smaller in stature!” the voice of a familiar female roared as the sparks continued to fly and grind near the center. Before long they ceased with the sharp sound of metal and plasma grinding against the other as the two tools, most likely weapons, pulled away from one another. Once again the room was dark, with little to no way to decipher where these two combatants were, “You probably think it unfair I've chosen this lighting, don't you? That's where the lessons come from, the dark, the unknown.”

“You continue to speak in riddles as if I care, Vythica. Your hit-and-run mind games won't do you any good in this day and age. These nuisances are not mindless beasts with an instinct to simply kill by whatever means necessary. They're people like us, they _are_ us!” the voice of a different, more dominating female echoed through the room, a slight chill trailing down the spine of Vosh herself at just the sound of it, “Now come out of hiding and face me in a true spar like you offered!”

Suddenly near the center once more the sound of two weapons clashing into one another rang, the sparks from constant impact between the two tools lighting the room up with every attack. While Vosh became anxious and rested a tight fist on the hilt of her newly reacquired blade, Alixandr simply remained quiet, though it was apparent he was enjoying what was occurring due to the slight smile that grew. Vosh glanced over in disgust, assuming he enjoyed this violence, be it planned or not.

“And this is why she remains undefeated,” he began to speak lowly as the attacks meeting head on in the distance continued to clash, “Vythica, the Vorpal. Child of Ngirrth'lu, heir to the fate of our people. Her physical prowess was never her strong point, no. Her abilities come from her mind, something even I have never been able to break past. Her confidence is exhumed in her pride, how she holds herself...because she is not only the Vorpal, but a mother. A mother who saw things coming before they occurred, calculated to near perfection based on what move she or others would take. Life, like combat, has always been nothing but a calculation, a game of chess. And that is why I love her, and why she loves you three...” His ramble came to a slow finish, his vision slowly turning to face Vosh who had a mixed expression of both confusion and, even to his surprise, inspiration.

Before long the clashing ceased and the room began to slowly light up from one central source over the center, revealing the two combatants that now faced Vosh and Alixandr while catching their breaths. It was not difficult to tell the two apart, but even still Reaper's physique and stature caught Vosh off guard. For a moment the two looked eye-to-eye, the tall female smiling a bit as she took a single step towards her. It was cut short however as she caught herself nearly falling over due to a sudden and extremely agile tripping maneuver to her leg, “Not a single step towards her, do you hear? She is not here for you, now return to your usual hiding. We'll go more in depth as to how we're going to approach this...uprising,” boomed the voice of Vythica once more.

If there was one thing that Vythica held that was large, it was presence, and not of the physical sort. In fact, that is why she donned the half mask she did, as she felt her full face's reveal had too much of visual impact upon who and what she was. Head Councilor she may be, but before that she was a mother with extremely powerful maternal instincts, especially when it came towards her firstborn.

It was a few moments before Reaper slowly but quietly moved back into the dark outer ring of the room, secluding herself with the only thing indicating her presence there were those subtle glowing, blood red eyes of hers. Attention was soon drawn away from her as Vosh heard the slow steps of Vythica move towards her. That sound always bothered her, though. There were not soft steps of a barefooted person, nor were they the usual thunk of one who wore boots or other footwear. No, her footsteps lightly echoed the sounds of metallic, talon shaped attachments, part of her weapons of choice, something she never removed out of fear of being caught offguard, but she never was nor could she ever be, “Vosh, you seem uncomfortable...” her words echoed lightly as her tone shifted from that of a leader to that of a caring mother.

Vosh's body language said it all as she instinctively shuffled a few steps back and behind Alixandr, who remained quiet as he simply examined for the time being, “...stay away, damn it,” she mumbled as she gripped onto the hilt of her own weapon more tightly, thumb pressed to the mouth of the sheath, ready to rocket the blade from its resting place if she so desired. It was clear Vosh did not want to be here as she tried nudging herself into Alixandr as a signal to get her away from here, but he would not acknowledge it.

“Vosh, please, it's me. What could you possibly have to fear from me?” Vythica questioned as she took a few steps back, allowing Vosh some space as she removed the hood that covered her face, revealing that half mask that covered the top of her face as if trying to masquerade around like some kind of specter, “...I see. You still think me a terrifying being...” she said as she looked away a bit, gaze directed down at the ground as if she'd become the bashful one, “But...but Vosh, I'm still the same woman, I promise. I know, you resent me for your past, what you had to do, what you endured with your brother, but Vosh I was young. I was naive, I didn't know what else to do! You have to understand that the past is the pa-”

“You put us there because you wanted to see us toughen up, as if you were afraid we'd be helpless...no, no, let me rephrase that,” Vosh spoke up as she stepped from behind Alixandr, even going to the lengths of pushing the tall male aside a bit as she took a few, surprisingly dominating steps towards her mother, “You made the mistake of taking on something you couldn't place an exact prediction on, therefore you did what would 'fix' that 'error' in your 'calculations', and got rid of us until you thought _you_ were ready!” Her words roared through the room, a low growl present in her tone as she slammed her booted foot on the stone flooring, Vythica even taking a step back in surprise of how resentful she'd become after all this time.

But things did not remain to tense for very long as the patter of small, bare feet came rushing towards the three, heavy panting as a small, robed child came running into and against the leg of Vosh, wrapping their small arms around her thigh as they seemingly snuggled into it. As a result, all three remained quiet as the sounds of fussing and tears of happiness began to emit from the child. Vosh had no idea what to do besides the only thing that came to her mind. She slowly lowered herself as she felt the child loosen their hold, face hidden by their small hood as sniffling ensued.

As she made herself comfortable on her knees to meet the child on a more even level, she couldn't help but smile. A hand reached over to slowly pull the hood off of the child's head, revealing the soft, medium length white and maroon locks that signified the only one that would be this ecstatic to the point of tears to see her, “...I missed you too, Ashir...” she mumbled as she suddenly pulled her small sister close in a tight hug, eyes closed as she too began to tear up slightly, a bit of her eyeliner running, “I'm sorry I stayed away, even after only having met you for a little bit...”

Yet the heartwarming moment did not cease. As Ashir hugged her oldest sibling ever tighter, both the mother and now obvious father of Vythica and Alixandr knelt beside the two sisters, but neither of them would embrace the two. The moment that they longed to experience for so long would have to be cut short as the two of them stood back up and took a few steps away back towards the center of the room together. After a few more moments the two sisters finally came to a peaceful pause, Vosh standing up with a light grunt while holding her sister's tiny hand. With a light sniffle she asked the two elders, “Obviously she's not what I'm here for, as much as I wish it was. Now what is it you really need to show me?”

“Knowledge,” boomed the voice of Alixandr as a sudden flash of digital, holographic imagery lit up the room, panels and pictures floating around all of them in some kind of technological sorcery. He turned to face his daughters once more, a slight frown now grown upon his face as he seemingly controlled all of the floating data with the flick of his wrist, organizing it in a more accessible fashion, “A crash course of what a Ngirrth'luin child _should_ have been taught in the Brood Tower, not what you were. The Head Mistress of the Tower...I encountered her about this once Vythica and I had left. She was much more wise than I had anticipated. For her to know who I was and what I once did in a past life is something that only a few could possess, and I've become aware of who those are...”

He droned for a moment as he gathered his thoughts, Vythica taking a step towards him as she laid a heavy metal, blade-clawed gauntlet upon his shoulder, knowing well what he was about to explain, “Perhaps we could explain this to her anoth-”

“There won't be another time, Vythica! Do you not understand the severity of this?!” he exclaimed as he roughly shrugged off her touch, causing the sharp blades to cut his shoulder slightly. His eyes were bloodshot the same color as the ring around his irises as he breathed heavily, trying to regain his composure in order to explain what he intended to, “...as I was saying before, there are those who are tasked with the maintenance and memorization of our peoples' dark history. Where we come from, who we are, what we've done, all of it. And strangely enough, it is not a genetic anomaly like the Alphas, rather it is carried through the generations of a specific bloodline, a cursed one at that. It came as a surprise to myself even after having delved so deeply into it before, but those of us cursed with this blood are what are known as 'Scholars', keepers of knowledge and gateways to the forbidden...”

The visual confusion and refusal to even believe was present upon Vosh's face as she nudged Ashir to go back to doing whatever it was she was before this, but the small child refused and merely held her sister's leg, seemingly unbothered by what was being explained. After a few moments Alixandr continued, “If you have not deciphered what I mean by all of this, then I will put it more plainly: the Head Mistress and I were two of the firstborn Scholars, both derived from one specific Elder that has long been imprisoned and labeled a heretic for being driven to madness. That bloodline now includes your sister, your brother...and you, Vosh. Your primary traits all derive from your mother's genes, but you carry the same cursed blood that I do,” he looked away as he continued explaining, flipping through the images until he came upon some ancient scriptures, “I'm sure you've experienced things that have to do with this, even though you might just think them strange cases of deja vu. Your mental imprisonment by Ngirrth'lu was due not only to your mother's actions, but your susceptibility to interaction with the Great Ones. Your ability to properly speak R'lyehian without knowing, your emotional instability...they are not just personal traits that come from being Ngirrth'luin, but all of this is only a means of explaining what I have truly brought you here for.”

Vythica, as upset as she was at Alixandr's explanation and aggressive behavior towards her, gave a nod as she removed her robes. Beneath that heavy synthetic cloth laid the true appearance of what every Ngirrth'luin Alpha once strived to be. Aside from the obvious weapons fitted to her hands and feet, she was dressed in similar fashion to her own eldest daughter. Her pants were somewhat loose around the thighs, tightening around her legs from the knees down, held in place properly by the weapons attached to her feet. Atop she wore a tight, form fitting long-sleeve top that revealed just a bit less of her midriff than the crop top Vosh wore. Layered over it all was a harness-like set of belts, designed to allow free movement while also able to hold, as it did, an assortment of throwing blades.

The Head Councilor shook herself a bit to allow it all to fit her form a bit better, including her hair that was, even to Vosh's surprise, lengthy and free flowing down to her lower back. Her half-mask that donned the top of her face remained in place, however, “You know...I- never mind. I'm way past the point of confusion and more concerned that I'm the result of two bloodlines: one that looks like that and another that looks like that,” Vosh commented as she pointed to each, “Seriously, as mind blowing as the stuff you just explained is Alix, Vythica is just...that's my mom, whom apparently I'm nearly a carbon copy of.”

Vythica merely smiled as she snapped her clawed fingers, the images of what Alixandr was explaining disappearing, allowing the room to be lit more appropriately, “Your mannerisms are not much different than mine when I was your age, either. Your father is right with everything he's explained, however. Do not take his spilling of the truth lightly as it does fall heavily upon you what will happen based on what you choose to do,” she stated as she stepped back and seated herself upon the one throne-like seat in the center of the room, “I'm sure after that whole incident of that girl hijacking my announcement feed you're quite aware of what's happening to my-...our city, Vosh. But she is the least of my worries at this particular moment. What she's trying to accomplish takes quite a long time, unless of course her influence spreads like a plague, which in fact could be called that.”

A single, organized holopanel suddenly appeared in front of Vythica as she continued on, “What I am speaking of are those who fall victim to a Harbinger's influence, whether they would like to or not. They simply were, as may be explained to you in another history lesson in your spare time, followers before, but with this girl's approach they've become less than that. Mindless, soulless husks...metaphorically, of course. In other words, they have no will due to how this is forced upon them by the Harbinger, which means they are a lost cause that simply feed into the number of targets the Enforcers are being told to eliminate,” she stated a bit uneasily, knowing well that these were her own people that have been marked for execution, “As much as it pains me to see them killed, it is a necessity to prevent the effects of this plague. Because of this they've been deemed 'Hollows'. There is no retribution for them, but that is why you've been brought here, Vosh. I know, you are not one to believe in silly things such as fate or destiny, but this is quite literally in your blood to do so, as well as his...”

As she finished speaking, the large doors from which Vosh and Alixandr had entered through opened once more, revealing the silhouette of someone else. They rolled their neck and shoulders a bit, causing multiple joints to pop before taking a few, heavy booted steps into the chamber, the doors closing behind him until he finally came into view, “If only you'd been awake when we were eighteen, Vosh. Lesson was a lot more entertaining back then,” the voice of the male commented as he took one more step to reveal his face from the dark, “Be honest, how surprised are you really?”

The air had never been more stale in a single place than it was at that moment. Time seemed to pause as Vosh tried to collect her thoughts and emotions based solely on seeing her twin brother for the first time in a long while. Was she happy? Angry? A bit of both, perhaps, but there was only one real way she knew how to express herself when around him, and within the short time frame of only a couple of seconds she had him tackled to the ground, legs straddled around his torso, a fist raised and aimed at his face, “You have three seconds to tell me why I shouldn't beat the living shit out of you right now!”

“Easy,” he began, a look of sincere happiness now expressed on his face, “You already took the first step to kicking my ass already, and even if you really wanted to continue you couldn't. That's how much you've missed me, Vosh.” His words were honest, true to the heart, and Vosh knew this as she lowered her defense, letting herself calm down, only to find herself quickly turned around against in an armlock from her brother, “Just remember not to be this soft around anyone else.”

“Damn it, fuck off Ventus!” she exclaimed as she struggled helplessly as she realized any other movements would probably leave her in more pain than anything.

“Say it.”

“Fuck off!”

“Say it!”

“Fuck off, please!?”

“Was that so hard?” he questioned rhetorically, dropping his hold of her.

For a few moments the two stood seething at each other. Being twins of the same genetic code meant there was some competition between the two, especially with her brother, being the younger of the two. However there was one thing about Vosh that her brother seemed to lack since childhood, and that was the ability to forgive, despite her hot headed behavior at times. No tears were shed, but she simply rested her forehead against her brother's chest, seeing as he towered over her anyways, “I missed you, Ventus. You never visited or called, not even a message...”

He sighed as a hand rubbed the back of his head, the other resting itself atop his twin's beanie topped head, “Life's been busy, and I'm sure what you've been told today helps confirm that stuff. I also take it SoFi's taken the liberty to show you some classified information, which...I'm not too surprised at, actually,” he chuckled some at that last bit before he felt Vosh move away to face their parents once more.

“So you want me and him to wipe a plague clean. Is that it? You want us to help purge some mental scourge by killing anyone that might show signs of it? Because that's what it's sounding like so far, and I'm going to tell you now that I'm not for that kind of violence. It's stupid and unnecessary!” she stated sternly, a boot stomped to the ground in reaction. Clearly she misjudged, or rather assumed too much as Vythica lifted her mask a bit.

“You jump to conclusions as much as you did when you first woke back up from your nightmare, Vosh. Were you not paying attention? It is not a mental scourge, nor is it some reason to purge our people or anyone else for that matter. It is a mass influence sourced from a single individual,” she explained calmly before many images lit up the room once more, flying through records and historical writings, “You two may not remember it, but there was a single child within the Brood Tower that was removed quickly after her true colors, quite literally, were revealed. A late bloomer, as you might call her.”

“And as I have explained already, there is only one bloodline within Ngirrth'luin society that has been deemed cursed,” Alixandr commented as he took a few steps to meet Vythica at her side, “It all stems from the top of the hierarchal ladder that so easily settled itself into the lifestyle of Ngirrth'luins. As I said, there was once an Elder that was imprisoned once he'd broken his own mind, driven himself to madness, but not before he helped bare two children of his own: myself and then, much later, my sister, Arri. I will not delve into how I managed to live two lives. Some would say it was merely an illusion, or that perhaps there was a first child whose memories haunt me. Either way, there have only been three known Scholars born from the Elder simply referred to as the Librarian.” The room was silent for a few moments before Alixandr rubbed his temples, “As off track as I went, that information is still very relevant. Her name is Arri, and she is the source of our people becoming Hollows.”

“So in other words, you want us to hunt down your sister and kill her?” Vosh and Ventus both seemingly asked in unison, a strange quirk the two of them seemed to have when within proximity of each other. They were quickly met with rapid head shaking, however, especially from their father, “So...apprehend her then?”

“We would hope you two to find a team capable of tracking a single individual down based on where she's gone, what's done and what her next movements may be. So far the other Councilors and myself have had no luck, and my right hand over in the dark over there refuses to engage until a target has been singled out, which is quite disappointing seeing as she claims herself to be the apex of our society,” Vythica commented as she glared over towards the dark outer ring of the chamber, “Your goal is not only to apprehend, but disable and neutralize her influence. As was discovered long ago when your father and I met, and don't get _any_ strange thoughts in your head children, the presence of an Alpha, for whatever reason, tends to disrupt the link between a Harbinger, their followers and, of course, the link between them and whatever Great One may be influencing them.”

The twins had gone from understanding and willing to listen to visibly lost in the free flowing words of their mother, more concerned with how they were going to remember all of this over what they needed to remember. Before they knew it, a sudden holoscreen appeared before them, prompting to enter a call, which Vythica took the liberty of answering herself, “You're approximately twenty four seconds late. Quite disappointing for a team formed of former agents, an elite duo of hackers and mercenaries.”

“Apologies Head Councilor,” boomed the recognizable voice of Hunter who came into view along with the other members, now gathered in what seemed to be his primary office down at Enforcer HQ, “The siblings were being...uncooperative again, with each other of course.” In the background could be heard the struggling of two Fen-Chi's fighting, the frustrated gurgling of two sharks and the faint, disrupted melody of that same song Vosh was exposed to earlier, “...you realize you're having this group, which even I can't even properly control, handed over to your apparent solution's hands, correct?”

“You're very correct, Hunter. And as one of my top Agents before I dismantled them I expect you to be prompt in making sure they are ready for my childrens' commands. Now go, this call has already been going ten seconds longer than it has needed to,” she commanded with pride, knowing well that the genetically cloned wolf had it in his blood to properly bring a squad in line, hence why she'd named him Commander of the Enforcers, “As for you two, you will meet your newly formed team down in the briefing room within Enforcer HQ.”

“And you?” Vosh asked with a bit of snarkiness in her tone, wondering if her mother who was so keen on the stopping of this apparent plague would do anything else besides watch from afar.

“ _I_ will be taking a different approach to this situation. Don't question whatever it may be. Just be sure to stay true to the goals of what you've been asked by your father and myself. If all goes as planned...then perhaps we can finally be a family again,” she commented as she grabbed her robes from her throne, draping them over herself once more.

“What exactly is that supposed to mean, Vythica? Don't tell me you're considering doing what I think you are,” echoed Reaper from a distance, “We have no one else capable of doing what you can as a leader.” Vythica merely smirked at the comment as she, along with Alixandr, led the twins out of the chamber, “...stubborn as always, damn calculist...”


	4. Disowned

**[Slow Motion](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7c0jkJ4bKd8) **

**[Memory](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rwOC3U_04M) **

**Chapter 3: _Disowned_**

The sound of sirens filled the near stale air that began to fill the streets, corridors, buildings and every little crevice that had formed in the Levels below, echoing ominously as they seemed to travel infinitely up to even the lowest parts of the top 5. Enforcers had been deployed, many of which were still unprepared for what they may have to face at a moment's notice, along with many specialist groups, two of which included those Hunter was directly in charge of giving orders to, one of which even he himself was part of. Their destinations were different than those of his lower-ranking officers who were assigned to keep watch over Levels 10 through 6 for any suspicious activity or erratic behavior among those who dwelled there: the Ngirrth'luin.

 _“My dear Ngirrth'luin brehtren,”_ began the voice of the oh so familiar Head Councilor boomed over the still ongoing sirens, _“Fear nothing at this time. Fear is what we chose to free ourselves from. Do not let yourselves succumb to the curse we've fought so painfully to avoid. Follow your nearest Enforcers' instructions without hesitation. They are not in your neighborhoods to restrict, but to protect. This intruder and her supposed followers will not destroy what we have worked so tirelessly for along with this city's original founders who you call your friends, your extended families, your partners. This will not be the fall, this is not the end, this is nothing for you to fear. This is my promise to you all. I swear it upon my bloodline._ ”

“You'd think she'd sound a lot more concerned or sympathetic when announcing that, considering we're about to be fighting for not only the city's safety but your own species' safety, Alix,” the tall, jet black coated wolf commented towards the man who'd took it upon himself to see to it he himself be directly involved in this operation, “And what's worse, it's you, me and the shark-drake siblings in our group. Why choose to give ourselves such little back up?”

“Because this is a tactician's battle, Hunter. Or have you forgotten your past self's history with combating such nightmares?” the elder Ngirrth'luin asked as he led from in front, a slight hunch in his posture as he held his own hands behind his back, “I would hope not. You and I have history.”

“You think I'd really forget those hellish thoughts that haunt me whenever I close my eyes?” Hunter asked, a bit of venom in his words, “I could never bring myself to believe those simple images were nothing more than flashbacks of certain dreams. Deja Vu, even. But to think I've been carrying the memories of my father this whole time-”

“He's not your pop's, Hunter. We've been over this multiple times when I was still assigned directly to your research operations, when you made me delve deeper and deeper into your genetic structure, your neural cells and more,” cut in the augmented, older Thresher sibling, holoimages already loaded up as she stepped up to his pace to show him, “It's something you've also always known but were too stubborn to admit. You're a clone, the only successful one out of a line of failed attempts, but the third true birth. Your predecessor, Hunter II, was unstable from artificial conception. Genetic instabilities led him to eventually off himself, or so...”

“Or so we've been told, right sis?” asserted the younger, slightly tanner sibling of the two, “Do you really think this is the time to remind the Chief of all of this? I mean we've got something a lot more important than reminding him that he's basically a prodigal project born in our mom's la-”

“That's enough from you two. Samantha-”

“You mean Sammy!”

“...Sammy,” Hunter corrected himself with a low growl, “You still fall under my orders and jurisdiction despite your assignments to assist Ventus on his mercenary contracts. As for you, Sophie...you may not fall directly under my orders anymore since your departure from Enforcement as an Agent up to Vythica's personnel, but so long as you're here on assignment with me, by me, I expect you to fall in line so none of us end up going back up to HQ in a compressed body bag.”

Alixandr nodded in agreement, though he did not turn back to face the other three, “He is correct, ladies. Now please do your best to remain focused on the task at hand. We're far from our destination as is and any unneeded conversation could cause us to fall behind, or be detected. The Hollow are not known for their intellectual choices under their curse, but they are primal. And much like any primal beast, their senses are heightened, including their hearing. I would hate to have to face them alone.”

Sophie raised a metallic finger as if to comment, but cut herself off with a sigh, realizing that perhaps, for once, she needed to agree with the old man and his instincts. And as much as she wanted to complain about carrying her old rail-gun prototype sniper rifle over her shoulder instead of in its case, she silently convinced herself that Alixandr's choices were most likely many steps ahead of her own thought process. The same could be said for her sister that walked beside her, carrying her own laser-based rifle, but what choice did they have? Plus they had the Chief present in front of them.

“I'm sure you're all also wondering why it is just myself leading you three, and to that I simply have this to say: it's like a game of chess, checkers, whatever you may use as a comparison, and the Head Councilor has seen victory in this. But that victory does not come from us directly. As I said, this is a tactician's battle.”

“You basically continue to repeat yourself, Alix. It's unsettling, I hope you realize that. Are we operating on nothing but her and your ability to think as fast as you two can?” Hunter asked in a low, yet concerned tone.

Yet Alixandr did not answer his question, not directly anyways. Instead, with a simple snap of his fingers, he gave one clue, a very vague yet profound clue, “Three is the number of perfection.”

And with that the other three simply asked in unity, “Seriously? Riddles?!”

The elder Ngirrth'luin would only give a smile, for he knew they would come to realize what he meant by it in the coming days, “Hush now, until we've arrived.”

* * *

 _“So my question to you at this point in our conversation is...well, who do you think I really am? I've already prodded far enough into your own history, which you seem to have missed out on a whole chunk of childhood development according to your memory problems-”_ continuously idled on over her communicator that was housed within her shoulder-neck plate, though at this point she was trying her hardest to avoid any further chatter with the Fen-Chi on the other end, _“-but when I think about it, it really all makes sense as, according to the Chief, Vythica, Alixandr, Sophie, and lots of other people, you were never actually, truly unconscious but rather in a never ending, nightmarish like-”_

“Alright, that's enough, oh my-...! Ugh!” exclaimed Vosh as she began to desperately beat her heavy, shoulder mounted collar to short out the communicator, “Seriously, you had all of the time in the damn world to ask me this when I was back up in Scumforcer HQ! Do you really think now is the best time to be asking me all of this personal information that you probably already know about?! I mean you were the same way before I actually met you. Literally NOTHING is different! Except maybe that you're a lot more intrusive than someone I'd see myself associated with, let alone friends with!”

 _“So...what you're meaning to say is that somehow you picked up on my mannerisms, behavior and thought processes before you'd even waken up from your coma?”_ Oxye, once again, asked prodding.

“Yes! That's exactly what I'm saying because you're literally the same damn person I thought I'd met before, but it turns out this world is much more a nightmare than the actual nightmare. I mean it's a lot cleaner, safer, reasonable...but now we're dealing with some kind of historical event repeating itself, and apparently I have a key role in this all. All because of me being the firstborn daughter of the Head Councilor? This all sounds like a load of crap to me, prophetical bullshit if you will. I just...I just...!” she inhaled heavily before throwing a wild punch towards a nearby building wall, only to be stopped by short by her brother's bandage-wrapped hand, the force enough to still cause the back of his knuckles to slam back into the metallic structure.

He did not flinch, sigh or even growl. He simply pulled her hand and arm back to her person, moving that same now bloody-knuckled hand to gently scratch behind his twin sibling's ear, “Easy now, save it for when we actually need it. Don't need you losing your temper to friends now, Vosh,” Ventus stated calmly, his work obviously working as the short-fused sister began to loosen up from her tense posture, “Plus it's just us two, remember that. Can't go losing you to some self-harm now, can I? We just finally met each other for the first time again in, pffft, what? I forgot how long. Seemed like a lot more than just a few years. I honestly didn't think we'd ever see each other again.”

As much as she wanted to say something rhetorical towards her brother, she couldn't bring herself to do so. Not as they continued through the service tunnels down towards Levels 15 through 11. The reality was that she was just too soft around him. Seeing him genuinely happy, with an actual smile on his face as he had the opportunity to calm her down successfully was just something she didn't want to disrupt. It made her happy, too, just like seeing the two of them after so long made Ashir happy as well. But she didn't want this all to go to waste if it meant them throwing themselves at some unidentified terrorist and her cult, “...yeah, you're right, but I mean think about it Ven,” she said lowly as she looked away from him, “Don't you think this is all just a bit...off? It's as if Vythica and Alix were just waiting for me to come back out of hiding again, then sent Sophie, my best friend and the only one I'd ever socialize with, to basically recruit me into something I don't want to be part of. Then, miraculously, some kid I've met yet haven't met finds my blade we lost so long ago, only to have restored and upgraded it to be used effectively? But for what? I can't bring myself to fight. I'm not a fighter. I don't attack, I defend what's mine and what I care about most-”

 _“And that's why the Chief was told'ta find the blade, and that's why the Head Counc'la told Miss Darkfin to find you to inform'ya about this. Oh, and by the way, that video of your brotha ain't fake or staged, big butt. That was real!”_ exclaimed Molly over Vosh's communicator.

 _“She's not wrong, and I don't know why she continues to talk like some ancient cartoon character out of what used to be the city that lays in ruins below us. Anyways, you're also not wrong to assume this is all part of a plan. Both the Head Councilor and Alixandr have seen this for a long time coming since you broke out of your coma. It was all, unfortunately, a matter of time before you were dragged back into your family's dilemma,”_ Oxye explained as he forced some holoimages to project from Vosh's heavy collar, _“Took me awhile to figure out your gear had this kind of tech. You design it yourself or did you steal and modify it to keep people out? Almost had me there, but it's me. Anyways, as I said, this has been a long time coming. As you can see here, this is a photo of when your parents, along with Novus City's currently older generation Ngirrth'luin came through, along with you and your brother.”_

The image zoomed in closer towards what was assumed to be Vythica and Alixandr, neither of which Vosh recognized until she saw her father holding her brother's hand, and her mother carrying a child wrapped in tattered cloth, presumably Vosh's little robe, _“And I'm assuming that's you in what I'm assuming to be your mother's arms. Huh, strange...I would've thought she'd always worn the mask she had even before leading your people here. Not important, though. In fact,”_ he continued as he shifted the image to the right a bit, _“If you look here, one of Vythica's disciple's, a Ngirrth'luin of about their age at the time, was not as stable looking as the others, though he did do a damn good job of hiding it from her.”_

The image zoomed in a bit more, revealing more details that could have easily been overlooked at the time, especially considering this was during the time period of Novus City's first years, _“Pretty crazy, right? The dude was a Hollow. Look at his eyes. Little to no life in them, plus his teeth were grotesque compared even to an Alpha-blood or one of you who'd gone lunatic. Not only that, but if you yourself focus really hard, I bet you could see something I can only assume is there,”_ he stated as he gave Vosh time to look over the image a bit more on her own.

“...that shadow, that's not natural,” commented Vosh as she squinted a bit, “And his breath, you can clearly see it despite the others not having any visible puffs around their mouths. That's usually just a sign of Ascension, but yet...he's not ascended to madness induced by Ngirrth'lu. He's-”

“Hollow, Vosh. Just like dad explained to you, and just like Oxye just explicitly stated. He's probably delved farther into our species than either of us ever have. He's been doing it since he was a kid and I helped him from being chased down and bullied when I used to run down to the Lower Levels to pick fights for fun. All out of his own interest to know who we are so that he could find some way to trust all of us, not just me. And he's had every reason to be so cautious and meticulous in his work,” Ventus continued, but not before quickly grabbing Vosh and pulling her to the side with him into a dark corner, a bandaged wrapped hand covering her muzzle as he signaled with the other a silent 'Ssh'.

The service tunnel they'd been traveling through was one of the oldest, but it was also the most prominent one, seeing as it connected to every Level from base to apex of the prism-enclosed city. Because of this, it was to no surprise to Ventus that the faint noises he had been hearing outside of its thick, lead-lined walls meant that they were being tracked, but not due to their noise levels or vocal volume. Ventus let go of his sister after a brief moment, but not before tapping the blade that rested on her person, “Promise me this, Vosh; we don't aim for the kill. Not you, not me, not for any reason during this incursion. Unless your life is being threatened, promise me you won't kill senselessly. I don't want you to lose yourself to the Hunt like I almost had not too long ago.”

His words were powerful, yet they provided a window into his thoughts at the moment. He was worried, but also concerned. The sounds outside of the tunnel began to become more clear to Vosh as she tuned her hearing to be able to pick up on them as well. The more she focused, however, the more she realized these were not just random noises, they were voices, “They know we're here, Ventus. We need to keep moving before they figure out a way in. We'll be corn-” she cut herself short as she not only heard, but felt an ominous growl from behind the thick wall.

Within seconds the walls of the service tunnel began to shake, cracks beginning to form from the inside. Something was beating its way into their path of travel, and it by no means sounded small, or friendly for that matter, “Ven, we gotta move. You said it yourself, no senseless engagements. We just need to get to where we decided was-”

“I know, I know! But at the same time, I don't think we'll be able to make it to the nearby emergency exit, especially considering-” Ventus attempted to explain, but not before the sound of a heavy body crashing through the thick wall echoed through the tunnel. Various mixtures of stone, concrete and metal clunked against the metallic tunnel floor as the silhouette of a well sized person knelt on the ground, breathing heavily and growling as it took its time to regain its strength and stamina, “Way to crash the party, jackass!” Ventus exclaimed as he slung his laser rifle around to his back side, tightening the strap to ensure it would not move.

Unlike her brother, Vosh didn't bother making a smart remark, only instinctually grabbing hold of her augmented blade and readying it for whatever this hulking being might have up its sleeve. If anything, Vosh had plenty of patience at this particular moment as the being had not budged from its kneel at all. However, from where they'd crashed through was now a gaping access point for any others who may have been accompanying this one to come through at any moment.

But something also felt very off about this person. Nothing about their presence put off either of the twins, nothing leading them to believe this wall-destroyer was hollow. Slowly they began to rise, shaking off the rubble and dust from their still hidden figure, the lighting in the tunnel in this particular section cut off due to the reckless maneuver. Their breathing was somewhat regulated now, though their form was hunched over, a slight amount of pain heard in their breathing patterns as they muttered something lowly, too quiet for either Vosh or Ventus to accurately get a grasp on.

“...what'd they say?” question Vosh as she continued to hold her blade at the ready, taking the short lesson her brother had given her earlier to quite a literal application.

“They...they're e-everywhere,” mumbled the large person, “Pl-...p-please, help me. They have my s-son, my wi-” The person collapsed suddenly, an ominous wind blowing through the tunnel. Ventus activated the flashlight on his rifle as he brought it back in front of him, slowly raising it to illuminate the collapsed person who laid seemingly lifeless on the ground.

“...this isn't some Hollow, but he's gone. Look at the injuries,” Ventus stated as he began to point out the various wounds ranging from cuts, stabs and flesh wounds to the apparent chunks of flesh bitten off of the male's shoulder and ear, “He was no pushover, either. Hard to believe-”

“Ventus, shut the light off!” Vosh exclaimed as she jumped in front of her brother over the body he was distracted by, the sound of a plasma-edged blade burning against something metallic hissing through the tunnel. In that moment, Vosh found herself in a tussle with the culprit of what had just transpired. Holding her own against the opposing being's attack, Vosh quickly looked over her shoulder to see just how tortured and mutilated the now deceased person was. From the injuries pointed out by Ventus to the now obvious bloodied knuckles and hands, this wasn't intended by the newly formed corpse.

Without a second more wasted, Vosh gritted her teeth roughly, her offhand forming a fist that she soon rocketed out towards the silhouetted attacker's face, forcing them to stumble back into the dimly lit, dusty area outside of the tunnel's newly formed entrance. The attacker seemed to hiss as their free hand gripped where the punch had landed, which appeared to have been their eye socket. A dribble of liquid leaked onto the ground as they held their makeshift weapon in front of them, as if expecting Vosh to leap back at them for another clash. However she would not, and simply remained on guard as she examined the attacker's blood dripping from their eye onto the ground, or what she assumed was blood.

“How the hell did you track us? There's no way in hell you should have been able to! Are there others nearby? You have-”

“Approximately till the count of 3 to drop your weapon and cease-” the twins found themselves both cut off by a sudden screech of pain and fear as the attacker stepped back once more, weapon still held up as if fearing for their life, almost as if this was some kind of primal and involuntary reaction. Something was telling the two of them to silence the being, but at the same time it seemed as though whatever they were attempting was of no use.

Ventus held his rifle at the ready in case of a lash out, as did Vosh with her blade, but the person instead continued to screech in what could only be assumed as a cry for back up. Within moments, glowing eyes of varying color and shape began to reveal themselves from the dark corners and alleys that lined the street they now found themselves in, “So much for the quiet plan, Ven. I'm thinking we have two options here,” Vosh commented as she took a step back towards her brother, the eyes of what seemed like bloodthirsty Hollows shifting over to look at her, “Fight or flight?” Her grip on her blade's hilt tightened, her footing anchoring to the ground to allow her to make a split second decision.

“Normally I'd say fight, but in this case I'm willing to make an exception!” Ventus exclaimed as he pulled his sister behind him back into the tunnel. From the underbarrel of his rifle, a blinding and deafening flashing-concussion round was fired, detonating seconds after, but not before he and his sister were back in the tunnel. Their sneaking had shifted to sprinting as they began to hurry their way through, to their original destination, “We got maybe a minute before they're flooding this tunnel in search of us,” Ventus explained between his breaths, “So I think I'll leave some presents for them.”

Every few yards he'd began to place a proximity concussion mine against the walls, covering their tails as they continued to flee to their intended rendezvous point, “Those aren't going to cause them any permanent damage, are they?” Vosh asked as her heavy boots made the grating beneath them rattle. The last thing she wanted to be responsible for was the permanent cause of a large population of people being blind and deaf.

“There's a chance, but right now that's not what we need to be worrying about. They won't die, and that's what the plan is, right?” Ventus asked between breaths.

“...right,” Vosh hesitantly commented, “So where are we headed anyways?”

“Down,” he quickly shot back.

“Down? What does that even mean? Weren't we heading up?”

“Change of plans,” he barked towards his sister, relaying the message he'd received to his headset to her shoulder guard. Soon after, they came to a halt, Ventus then depressing a switch he had held in his right hand, “Don't look back, and cover your ears. I know they're sensitive.”

Moments later, all of the charges he'd placed behind them began to detonate, causing the anything metallic within their proximity to ring with a deafening scream, enough to drive an individual to pass out, and despite his warning and her doing as he'd asked her to, Vosh soon found herself a short worked victim of the charges, blacking out into her brother's arms, only able to catch the last of the message he'd received in a muffled mess, “...-eat, retreat back to-...-entus, take Vosh down to-...situation not as it see-...!”

* * *

“I said to cease your grip of me you insufferable thrawn!” boomed the voice of Novus City's head councilor as her clawed gauntlets dug deep into the rib cage of a supposed 'hollow' who'd tried to take a knife to her back. Within a second, her ambusher found themselves plummeting over the edge of the raised walkway, plummeting down to the city streets, leaving her to collect herself and fix her clothing, though her once well kept robe was now torn much too severely to even wear it as she usually would. With a disappointed sigh she'd remove it and throw it over the ledge to fall down to the streets along with the body of her would-be killer, “Suppose I'll have to weave myself another once this is dealt with,” she mumbled, adjusting the half mask that sat on the top of her cranium.

But only a few yards away, her right hand assailant was enjoying a fight of her own, seemingly piled on by similar attackers. Only, she was not panicking or giving any signs of defeat. In fact, she was letting it happen, only to let out an otherworldly howl as her dominating figure emerged from the pile, two clawed fists wrapped sharply around the throats of two lifeless bodies. To no surprise to Vythica, the primeval Ngirrth'luin woman began to use said bodies as clubs, swinging them wildly, but with such precision that her other piled on attackers found themselves flying off of the walkway one-by-one, “How does it feel to know you've been wrong for another time in your life, Vythica?” Reaper asked calmly, the only sign of her exerting any effort being her heavy breaths and hisses.

Vythica did not reply, simply taking a few rushed strides in her right hand's direction, digging her gauntlets into two stragglers before shoving them over the edge as well, contributing to the shower of unconscious and soon to be deceased bodies. She knew Reaper was right, however. But for her to admit it was not something she could bring herself to do. Mistakes were not her forte. Admitting her mistakes, if they ever happened, was something she did not take lightly. The fact that Reaper had mentioned 'another time' only made it visible that she held onto grief more heavily than even her husband. Before long, she found herself paused in her movements, staring down over the ledge of the walkway at the rising chaos that had arisen in her city due to her misunderstanding of what was happening. For once in her life, Alix's prophetical predictions had come true.

* * *

_“You do understand why I believe in this, don't you Vythica?”_

_“I don't, and I don't think I ever will. It does not make a bit of sense, Alix.”_

_“Of course it doesn't, but that's part of how They work. Their plans are beyond our action and thoughts, their thoughts beyond their plans. It is something I learned to accept after having been used as I had. They are indifferent, but at the same time sympathetic.”_

_“You continue to speak in illogical circles, love. The fact of the matter is that we were spawned by them and groomed to worship them, even mimicking some of their traits, all for their-”_

_“Grand plans? They have no grand plans, Vythica. I'd thought the same until the last moments of my first time here in this world outside of R'lyeh. The chaos that ensues when they arise is not chaos, but misunderstanding and incomprehension. The madness that results is from ignorance, from fear. We cannot continue to live in fear of them. But-”_

_“You're going to bring up Him, aren't you?”_

_“Yes, because he is not what we think he is. We've been led to believe that he is our forefather, the one chaotic prophet that we were born and molded into to follow. But he isn't, Vythica. We've based our lives on a lie. Is that not why we immigrated in the first place? To free ourselves of a twisted regime, birthed from ignorance and lied to in order to remain so?”_

_“Your words speak heresy to him, Alix. If he is listening-”_

_“He has always listened, and that is why Arri must be allowed to perform what I had not finished. The Ngirrth'luin are slaves until this is finished, Vythica. No matter how far or how many times we may run.”_

_“...you intend to keep everyone, even our own children, in the dark about this, don't you? And for what? Something you cannot even comprehend logically? But yet you're putting your trust and judgment in your cursed sibling.”_

_“That is why you cannot allow them to find out. I know where she hides, because she is not. She is waiting for me to help her. She's as lost a child as we both once were when we were her age. Because in reality, we're all merely children, infants even, in comparison to them.”_

_“...then do it. This is beyond even my abilities and power as Head Councilor. I will contribute to the mass confusion and conspiracy, Alix. But if this goes wrong in any way, the lives of our people, our children, will be stained on your name. Do not make me regret loving you.”_

_“Then until this is finished, we must act as if you do.”_

* * *

“She weeps, you know. As she sees what is to become of us soon enough, Alix. But yet he is understanding of what is to be done. We, including our supposed 'god'...we are their children. But in order to remain here, we must break our bonds and disown the one we once clung to as our forefather. He has lowered himself away from those who helped him arise in order to pursue the one thing that has ever given him pleasure, something the Great Ones do not seek. The Hunt...it was his curse, and it became our bane, but He has taken notice. You and Vythica have worked so hard to free our people from R'lyeh, but it still lingers around you no matter how hard you may try. Please, help me be the one to bring our people the life we truly seek...” the soft spoken voice of a young female Ngirrth'luin seemingly prayed to the male that sat in front of her.

Behind him was a silent trio of agents, standing in wait and understanding of why they had come here. Around them, her followers, people of higher understanding and sympathy of the girl's people, “You Ngirrth'luin always had the intention of leaving your supposed god, yet many will not accept this,” boomed the deep growl of Hunter's voice, “What's to say this won't end as it did when you had this responsibility, Alix?”

“I'd never had the responsibility taken away nor had I ever given it up, Hunter. Your forefather understood that, but not until the last moments of his life. I had attempted what I had too early, because my mental fortitude was nothing to what it is now. I could not understand Him. But Arri had, and I knew that this time was to come soon enough,” he stated as he stood, placing an open palm to his muzzle, the scarification tattoos on his cranium emitting an eery, dark red glow, “We were never Harbingers of this world as I once led myself to believe. I only wish I had realized this sooner.”


	5. Shambles

[Disappear](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csBwqnXDa5k)

[Chaos](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpE4UFUN4PE)

_**Chapter 4: Shambles** _

The scent of brine began to settle eerily into the entire closed atmosphere of Novus City. It was, to some, natural. To others, it was abnormal. But to those whose home was not originally here, this was an omen, for the scent of brine polluting the air in such a rapid yet static fashion was an indication of their past lives returning to the present to haunt the deepest parts of their fragile sanities that they'd thought they'd left behind all those years ago. The city began to grow quieter as the stench filled the streets and homes from the highest levels to the most disgusting alleys in the slums near the bottom of the city.

Lights in the homes of those who knew better began to switch off, the sounds of air and magnetic locks echoing against the metallic walls and roads. The common people of Novus City simply took it as some uninformed curfew as part of some unspoken martial law that they were unaware of. Some continued on with their daily routines, thinking to themselves that whatever was erupting would be contained as anything had in the past. But as the echoes stopped becoming echoes, some began to pick up on the imminent danger they could find themselves in.

The air began to thicken with humidity. Had the humidity regulators in the city's regulation plant began to malfunction? It had all seemed so stable before. This humidity was unnatural, this moisture was salty, and above all else, so thick and hazy that even the Enforcers' flood lights could not penetrate more than a few yards. The city began to become less and less familiar, and to some, foreign altogether. This was no longer the home they knew as home.

Within hours the city had found itself shrouded, inside and out, by this ominous haze. From some homes, the sound of families weeping for their safety gently filled the streets. These were the families who'd escaped to here to begin fresh, away from the nightmares they once fought off. This was telltale of their possible end. Their sorrows only intensified as the shrieks and howls of others tainted the quiet streets. Anarchy? Far from those childish antics.

In the home of one family that'd chosen to live within the Lower Levels, a father quietly shed tears. His children wondered why, his wife had not returned to explain, nor would she, “Papa,” whispered one of the children, a young Ngirrth'luin boy, “I'm scared, but I don't know why...”

The father could only pick the boy up and hold him close as he began to lock down his home, windows and all. His son and daughter looked up to him as he did so, “...but mama, she isn't home yet-” the girl asked, but was cut short by the father as he hushed her, a single digit to his lips. The girl did not understand, nor did the boy, but they knew this: their father would never lie, their father would never give them instructions if he did not know why.

“Do you children remember the scary tales your mother tells you to make the bad dreams you have seem less scary?” the father whispered, the ominous haze beginning to seep through the cracks in the window shield. The children nodded, ears folded back, tails tucked between their legs. The father nodded as he grabbed a hand of each child to lead them to the safety of a quieter room, only the dim glow of some of their home furnishing able to be seen now in the ever creeping haze, “I have one to tell you both, and it's played as a game. It's something your mother and I played when we were your age. We called the story 'Harbingers', and the goal of the game was to make the end of the story a good ending where nobody went crazy. Do you understand?”

The children nodded, though the expressions on their faces said otherwise, “Very good then, we'll start at the beginning. 'There once were two strong, yet weak, Ngirrth'luin. A boy, and a girl...'”

* * *

The Head Councilor looked over the ledge of the walkway down over her city in disbelief. She would have preferred it to just be anarchy, but what was happening now was something she could not stop with just sheer force and authority, “...is this what a temporary defeat feels like, Reaper? If so, I despise it. I feel just as powerless as-”

“As when?” asked the towering relic before even giving Vythica the chance to finish her statement, “The time you'd first lost Alixandr? Or the time you'd first been defeated in a simple trial by me because you thought you were not capable?” The red-streaked Ngirrth'luin elder turned away from the Alpha, “If you think I'm going to fight this for you, you're wrong. If you think I'm going to assist you so long as you choose to keep trudging into the impossible, you're also wrong. There are only two paths here, and I hope you'd be wise enough after all these years to choose the one you know is correct.”

Vythica snarled lightly, even so much as spitting over the ledge onto the streets below, “If I didn't, you wouldn't still be here waiting for me to say it.”

“So then why don't you?”

“Because...”

“Because why?!”

“Because for once in my life I'm afraid of something other than Ngirrth'lu himself!”

“You're lying to me, and you know it!” Reaper exclaimed with a growl as she turned to face the Alpha, “If you're going to be a stubborn pup as you were all those years ago when I chose to assist you, you've obviously not taken into account any history you've established! You've let your title make you soft!”

Vythica's talon-clawed grip shredded into the metallic rail before her, “I haven't become soft, you ignorant beast!”

“You say that, but the frustration in your quivering, emotional voice says so much more Vythica. You pride yourself on keeping a cool head and question where your firstborn gets her irrational attitude, but yet here you stand as if it were her,” Reaper stated sternly as she began walking towards Vythica with heavy steps, “Now tell me the path you know you need to take!”

“Why are you demanding me to speak!?” Vythica erupted as she flung a cutaway of the rail she'd gripped through at the elder, turning to face her and show the fear that had grown in her eyes, tears pooled and ready to run down her cheeks, “I do not want to admit what I have to because I've already taken into account the number of things that could happen, Reaper!”

The towering female caught the piece of pipe and dropped it at Vythica's feet, kneeling in front of her, but not in a submissive or respectful way, “You're a stubborn child and will continue to be, because that is who you are, but do not think you can predict everything. Now explain to me what you have to do before I decide to do it on my own without your emotional self.”

Vythica took a few deep breaths, some tears falling as she began to regain her composure. Despite the slight quiver in her voice, she began to explain with some confidence, “We have to escort Ashir to the Network Hub in the northern corner on Level 12, it's there I had ordered a haven of sorts built for her in the case of Alixandr ever being correct in his ridiculous prophecy. All of the preparations have been done by her father already, she just needs to...” a sudden look of fear overcame the Head Councilor's expression, “...I need you to carry her...please.”

Reaper nodded, lifting herself back up onto her feet, “You fear this more than anything, yet your first two children have chosen to risk their lives despite being lied to. Is your youngest really treasured more than your eldest?”

“No, because this entire plan involves them, too.”

“...you're not going to explain it to me until Ashir is safe, aren't you?”

Vythica smiled lightly as she adjusted her tattered robe back over her normal attire and began making her way back to the Council Chambers, “Now you're beginning to read me as easily as I read you.”

“Your sudden cockiness reeks as much as the R'lyehian brine that fills the air now, Vythica.”

* * *

It was an unfamiliar yet natural feeling. It was still dark, and she wandered aimlessly in her own head towards a flickering and ever shifting light, as if it was guiding her towards something. Was she awake? If so, she must've been blinded recently. No, she was not blind, she was lost. Lost in her own head within the abyss she once wandered before, but that was so long ago. Perhaps something would come if she continued to follow that faint, flickering light.

Then, as if it'd finally acknowledged her following it, the light stopped and began to grow in size as she continued to approach it. But for some reason, it began to dull as well, whispers echoing in a progressively louder fashion until she found herself in place of the once flickering anomaly, “...sector being contained...”

“...Alixandr and his group-...”

“-mbush! Send additional-!”

“...-signs of Vosh gone, no trace of either of the t-...”

All of these strange whispers, voices of concern, fear, struggle. All accompanied by a collection of dissonant shrieks and howling. But yet, the more she listened, the clearer they became, _“-ntus? Do you copy? I managed to gain access to Vosh's shoulder comms. You won't believe how much is happening at the moment.”_

“I can only guess, but if since you mentioned it, I'm going to. Has a haze that stinks like rotten sea water filled the city's air?”

_“Yeeeup-”_

“And supposed anarchy?”

_“In full swing-”_

“And an eery chill from an unnatural breeze from every direction, even within a closed space as if something is breathing over your shoulder?”

_“Uhhh, no...nothing like that. Not yet- no, wait, I spoke to soon, there it is.”_

_“I told ya, we should've snuck out and taken all of the-”_

“Oxye-”

_“I know, don't let her get us into a bind over silly gimmicks because she thinks she knows what anar-”_

“No, I was going to ask you to go quiet for the time being and just keep an eye on us on the side,” stated the familiar male's voice, not distorted by static, “Plus, you're a technophage of sorts, right? You can plant yourself anywhere within the city's network virtually?”

_“Well I wouldn't put it quite so simply, but...yes, for lack of a better term, 'technophage' works.”_

_“Techno-Mage sounds way better! Yeah, that sounds like a legitimate class in some kind of sci-fi game. I wonder what that'd make me...ooh! Technolock! Yeah, that sounds like a class I'd main! In fact-”_ the feminine voice over the static cut herself short, though there were some grunts and what sounded like some slapping.

Before long, things began to become a bit more clear. Her vision was returning, as if she was waking from some kind of temporary coma. Everything was blurry at first, and it didn't help that the lights had began shifting from a soft, natural light to a bright neon orange, not to mention the sudden sound of multiple door locks hissing and sliding open, “...Ventus? Where-...what...”

_“Eyy, look, your other half is awake Ven! Just in time to see me effortlessly-ah!”_

_“I told you not to shove me away from my work when I'm hooked up into the network like this, Monica! You could've fried Vosh, or worse, me...did you really?!”_

The voices soon turned to senseless arguing and gibberish, accompanied by static between the sound of more slapping and valuable armaments falling to the ground, “Well...at least they're still themselves. As for you...” Ventus began as he lifted his twin sister up by a single arm onto her feet, “I didn't think you'd be awake so soon after that. What happened? Did you see or hear anyone or anything?”

“I...” she began as she rubbed her eyes and ran her gloved fingers through her hair, “I'm not too sure, actually. I thought I heard people, but I think my equipment was just picking up unsecured frequencies.” She shook her head a bit, still trying to get rid of a slight ring in her ear, “Other than that, just some distant screaming.”

Ventus nodded as he doubled through all of his own equipment again, “Then you saw nothing? Just endless abyss?”

She nodded, though the expression on her face said otherwise.

“What else did you see?”

“A dim light, a haze even. It felt familiar so I followed it for awhile until I ended up back here, though there was a slightly brighter light leading me on before I followed the dimmer light. That one felt a lot more familiar, but for some reason I knew I had to stop and try the other.”

“Because you've experienced that choice before, that's why it felt familiar. He almost had you again. That dim haze, that was someone else that wanted you here, not lost in your head again in an endless trap, another eternal nightmare. At least your mind is stronger than it was when we were younger. I would've regretted agreeing to do any of this if you'd let him-”

“You mean Ngirrth'lu? I remember seeing him, a long time ago. But at the time I didn't know what do to, so I struck at him, and then I woke up from a long sleep,” Vosh explained as she rubbed her cheeks some, “I really don't know what to make of this. I've been kept in the dark about a lot of things, and I feel like I still am. I'm honestly just worried about you and Ashir now. I could care less about what happens to me.”

Ventus shook his head as he gave a slight motion with his hand for her to follow him down the now open series of doors, “Then let me give you the gist. Despite us looking more like mom, we're still our father's children. Ashir's coat? Rare, she _is_ albino, after all. But the color of her patterns? Just like dad's. Just because we look like Alphas doesn't mean we are. We're Scholars, which is why mom hid Ashir. She didn't want them doing what they had to dad when they grew up in the tower. She thought us growing up under the guise of Alphas was safe, but you...” he explained before pausing for a moment, turning to face his sister, “You falling into that coma was a a giveaway of our family's future. It's how the Elders discovered dad had returned to R'lyeh, that mom had strayed from the proper path of the supposed 'future of Alphas'. Our family, Phantasm, the name our mom made for us, isn't just last name. It's a word with meaning, because it was her intention to have us disappear from society, but she found a better calling.”

“...the Exodus,” Vosh mentioned softly.

“Exactly; so our family turned from a banished figment of reality to an illusion of freedom. Either way I put it, it can't hide the truth of why mom led the Exodus,” Ventus finished as he turned away and began moving again.

“To get us away from that tainted dystopia of a city, right? Unless this really has less to do with what I've read-”

“What you've read and what I'm telling you collide in such an opposed fashion that it's better to let it go. That's why you've been kept in the dark. Mom and dad...they don't want you to lose focus.”

He felt a sudden force latch onto his shoulder and spin him around to face his sister. A tentacle had erupted from one of her shoulder blades in a fit of frustration, “Don't speak for them, speak for yourself! I'm your twin, damn it!”

He snorted in a bit of a defiant fashion before letting out a heavy sigh, “The shortest way for me to put it, Vosh...history is repeating itself, but this time things have to go right. There are Old Ones we should fear, but our supposed 'god' is not a 'god'. He's an abomination birthed by the true Old Ones, and despite us trying to mimic him in appeasement, it was always our purpose to put an end to his tyranny. In other words...”

“...Scholars are not 'scholars'-”

“We're false idol slayers. Our ability to further contact and better understand the intention of true Old Ones is a blessing from them themselves. That's why you so easily fell trap to Ngirrth'lu when you were young. We were not conditioned in the same fashion as Alixandr. I can only imagine the torture of it. It makes me appreciate Vythica's choices back when she was the age we are now.”

The corridor they'd been traveling for what felt like ages began to finally come to an end, a pair of heavy, sealed doors blocking the way, “Is this...the primary support column elevator?” Vosh questioned as the sound of multiple hydraulic locks began to clunk open, from the top of the doors to the bottom, one at a time, “Why are we headed down and out onto the surface?”

“Because the Trinity is already set without us being needed. Don't you remember dad's dark lullaby from when we were children? _'Deep below, the gods sleep sound; your fleeting minds remain. Come the time we need three; our world in shambles, you will see-_

“ _'...that we are cursed, eternally...'_ ”

“ _'You sleep for now, my little one; do not fear the ones we call gods.'_ I always thought it was horrible, it hardly rhymed. But he was subliminally trying to let us know that when the time comes, as in now, that three of us would be needed to complete what he was unable to the first time,” Ventus explained as the heavy doors slid open slowly, a low buzz sounding to signal the siblings to board.

“...he wants to summon-”

“No, not that way, and not as you'd think. His first attempt all those decades ago was unfocused and backfired. He was also as vulnerable to the incomprehensible tongues They speak in. He performed the wrong thing at the wrong time in the wrong place. If it all goes as it is supposed to this time around, we shouldn't have to worry about much except, well...surviving.”

Vosh lifted a single brow as she shifted her weight onto one leg, a hand resting on her hip, “Surviving? You say that as if it's something so easily done on the surface. Aren't there things still living on it that we don't necessarily want to upset?”

Ventus shook his head, “Just rumors made urban legends by people who've never actually had the gall to set foot on it. We will lose all ability to communicate with the city's network, though, so I guess that's something to be somewhat afraid of in the case of an emergency, but there won't be much to be alarmed of but...well, you'll have to wait and see.”

“I'm just giddy with fucking excitement now that you put it _that_ way, Ventus,” Vosh stated sarcastically as the heavy doors slammed shut, the elevator suddenly traveling down at a rapid, yet controlled pace, “If we end up dying, I just want you to know that my business, my shop on Level 13, isn't for sale. Its business disappears with me. Because I'm the one in charge there, no one else. Not now, not ever. Nope.”

“Yet your business has been in debt because you're picky with your work and try to upcharge on it.”

“Quality over quantity, Ventus. Quality over quantity...”

* * *

“I don't think I quite understand the old man's plan here, or even the creepy girl's interpretation of it, but if I had to put it into layman's terms here, I think we're literally just an escort team for the girl,” explained the augmented thresher, “Well, at least that's what I'm getting here. The overuse of...riddles, and creepy lullabies, if you can even call them th-”

“I think they're interesting, Sophie. And I think you're right in us having to escort her. I don't think it's too far from here from what they've been discussing. But...there's a catch, I think,” further explained the other thresher.

“Sam, I don't think you quite _understand why_ I'm questioning this 'plan'. There's no catch, they stated it in plain words you thick-skulled footsoldier. _You_ only say it's a catch because you want _me_ to scout it for the number of heads you'll be able to pop with that damned rifle of yours. In fact, I don't think you even care about taking heads. You just want to gun something down since the last time you were able to was... _never_ ,” spoke Sophie in an extremely sassy and smart-assy fashion. Despite the attitude, her sister knew every word that came from the ex-Agent's mouth was true, but she couldn't help it, “You and Ventus may be personal hands of the Head Councilor in scouting and combating outside of the city, but within the walls here things are a lot different. Just about any shot you take can and will ricochet in an unpredictable fashion, so get that run-and-gun fantasy out of your head. If we're going to escort this girl, we're doing it my way.”

“...you two do realize I'm here, and I have a name, correct?” questioned the hooded, facial scarrified female that stood no more than a yard away.

“...Arri, you may have a pretty connected relationship with the old m-”

“His name is Alixandr.”

“...right, Alixandr. But me and Sam? We've butted heads since she was a minnow and I was already...grown. Now back to what I was saying, we're doing this my way. You're going to scout out our path, _quietly_ please. Don't engage, don't reveal your location,” began to explain Sophie with a slightly more serious tone. Her explanation continued on for a few minutes, all while preparing her gear, as well as Sammy's. The path to their rendezvous point was dangerous, for lack of a better term. Novus City had already fallen into a state of disarray, something for both the anarchists and Hollows to take advantage of.

The amazing thing about it all had to do with how quickly it all happened. Where was this haze coming from? It was abnormally thick. Anybody could easily hide themselves in plain site now, but that also worked to the advantage of those trying to maneuver their ways past them all. Sammy and Sophie were a strange duo. Not just because they were siblings, but because of their inherent ability to communicate in complete silence from a distance, almost like a subconscious link. Sam's scouting ahead through the alleyways indicated a clear path for Sophie to escort Arri, the Scholar blooded sibling of Alixandr. Those that had escorted Arri into the city remained behind to ambush anyone that thought they'd caught trace of her.

The journey continued with success for awhile until Sophie found herself caught up to her sister, who was looking carefully around the corner of the building she'd planted herself up against. She had every rightful instinct to be so cautious. The next closest clear pathway was behind a waiting swarm of Hollows, or so she assumed them to be. While some may have been, many were also simply anarchists, “They couldn't be working together,” she whispered softly to Sophie, “Their little anarchy was short lived. Now we have a new wave of Hollows flooding the streets. Is there anything we can do about it?”

Sophie shrugged as she prepared her own rifle in the case of engagement, but Arri shook her head before explaining, “There would have been, if I'd gotten here sooner. There's a state during the hollowing of the mind that Alixandr and I can intervene and confuse them to believe it was us speaking to them, but these ones...they're too far gone.”

“Wait...so your presence isn't what led them to become Hollows?” questioned Sophie as her rifle hummed, indicating power was now flowing.

“No, because if that were the case, your entire city would be populated by nothing but hollow minded slaves because Alixandr and his children have lived here as long as they have. Ngirrth'luin cannot influence madness unless they've ascended, or speak in R'lyehian tongue in public. But even then, the range of the effect is no more than within a few yards,” explained Arri as she peeked around the corner herself, the scarification tattoos on her face emitting a dim, maroon glow, _“Epgoka fahf agl, azanahothh...”_.

There was a strange, ominous whisper that seemed to echo in the thickened air, reverberating and growing in volume before silence settled in once more. The thresher siblings covered their ears, the words hurting their heads as they'd not heard R'lyehian spoken near them in so long. However, whatever Arri had spoken had given the Hollows the impression that they were being ordered away from this area. Nearly every one of them had begun to leave, some tripping over themselves or others. However, there was one individual that did not continue with the others into the haze. No, instead this one stood in silence on their own for a minute before turning to face where the escort group was now moving from, out in the open of the street. Within seconds, the single individual let out an ear-drum tearing shriek. It was a Ngirrth'luin, and he'd alerted the horde that'd just walked away.

The sound nearly left the thresher sisters deafened as they raised their weapons to a ready, their vision blurry. While they tried to hide Arri behind them, they knew she potentially had the ability to help them here more than they could help themselves, but they couldn't let her know that. The howling crowd came swarming back from around the street corner they'd taken, looking even more mindless than what Sophie and Sam had thought they were as they tripped and trampled over one another just to get at whoever their intended prey were.

Arri, on the other hand, was unphased. Her breathing remained calm as she silently ordered the sisters to begin taking shots. The siblings hesitated for a moment, but as if it were in their nature, rail-rounds and incendiary rounds began to fly from their firearms, every shot dropping one or sometimes two bodies, thinning the horde for a few moments. The threshers drooled in satisfaction, licking their lips and razor grins as nature took its course. The street became silent for a few minutes, giving the girls a chance to come down from their bloodlust induced high.

The silence, however, did not last more than those few minutes. An ominous howl beckoned to the three from a distance. It was different from the mindless screams and growling from the Hollows. This howl had sentience, as if trying to speak to them. The thresher siblings reloaded their firearms as quickly as they could, even fumbling a bit as their hands shook with adrenaline, “I don't think you two will be able to do much with those,” spoke Arri as she stepped before them to face where the howling was coming from, “We're not all that far apart in age, Sophie, are you aware? I grew up in the Tower with Vosh and Ventus, but I was taken not long after to somewhere else, because I exhibited all traits of a Scholar more than they had.”

Sophie gave a confused expression as she tapped her augmented fingers against her rifle, “...that matters why?”

Arri simply shrugged, knowing that her intention wasn't to inform or educate at this moment, but distract the thresher and her sibling from what they may encounter soon, “Conversation for the ordinary I suppose, but I suggest you brace your minds,” she commented as the scarification tattoos on her face began to glow lowly once more, a strange essence beginning to emit from them as her focus shifted to an intense state. Sophie and Sam did not hesitate to acknowledge her warning and ran to hide behind a nearby metal wall, “Ymg' mgah'n'ghft, uh'enyth. Ah nafl ph'nglui ah'n'ghft n'ghftnahh...”

The words hissed and fell heavy throughout the immediate area. The metallic buildings rattled, the air thinned, and the haze began to shift into pure, dripping moisture. It clung to the cold surfaces and ran down away from Arri, towards the direction the howling once came from. The haze had lightened to a thin fog, beginning to reveal the silhouette of something that shouldn't have been here. Arri did not shift her breathing or vision away from the silhouette, it standing there in a hunch as if wanting her to flinch in some way. This would not be the case. It acknowledged that it was seen but not feared by the Ngirrth'luin and snarled as it trudged forward some more.

Its figure was familiar, but also foreign. Many believed the Ngirrth'luin to be the true followers and agents of Ngirrth'lu himself, but that was simply what they'd been told, and what everyone else had been lied to about in order to hide the future events of today away from the commonwealth, “You know damn well what you are, where you've come from, and why you're here. To think we were born from the likes of you and your tribes...” Arri growled as she took a step forward towards the now towering silhouette in comparison to her own figure, “The Elders were right to denounce you after what you did to me!” she shrieked as the scars glowed deeper, the metal flooring around her beginning to tremor, “You acted as if you sought something meaningful, but you were nothing more than a puppet, Ahj'leyn! And now look at you, in your true ascendant form...you were never truly a Ngirrth'luin, just another Lupine One hiding within our society...”

The large figure finally came into view. It was indeed the once-Elder, now a malformed beast. His jaw hung low, eyes grew from every crevice upon his cranium, and his limbs extended and twisted in contorted patterns that caused his own skin and fur to tear on its own with every step, “So this is the form of our true ascendance, is it? You're disgusting, and any who hid in our city for Ngirrth'lu like you are bound to the same fate. You were looked down upon not for what you did to me and my brother, but because they knew all along! You're a false god, just like Him. And you'll fall just as he will...”

The contorted beast that was once Arri's supposed father shrieked in a fit of rage, the noise surpassing anything able to be perceived. His state of distraught could not be heard by the thresher siblings, his appearance even looking normal to them as they merely saw an enraged elder Ngirrth'luin man struggling to maintain his own sanity, but only those that had descended into the madness induced by a true R'lyehian God to understand it could see the true nature of an individual that had ascended, “You sought transcendence to break your bonds, but instead of finding that you discovered a way to let Ngirrth'lu sabotage the society you and the other Elders had so diligently worked to build, not even knowing who it was you truly were to follow. Our name as a people is a facade, but you took it to a literal definition!”

The ascended Ngirrth'luin elder began to lose its mind entirely as it fought within its own head, a losing battle at this point in his lost life. He finally snapped, beginning to charge towards Arri without remorse. His crooked claws screeched as they scraped the metal road, his uncontrollable drooling turning to foam from his maw laced in eyeless sockets. Tentacles sprouted from his arms as he approached closer yet, not even taking notice of the preparations Arri had set as he'd fought off her piercing words, “Ymg' ah mglw'nafh!” were the distorted words that echoed from his maw before he attempted to leap, arms outstretched as if attempting to reach towards and strangle the girl's neck, but he would not have that satisfaction.

Around him, Arri had summoned ethereal projections of large tendrils that mimicked the power given off by the one who truly understood the Ngirrth'luin. Arri was the second Ngirrth'luin to have successfully contacted and conversed with Him. And He understood. While the rest of Ngirrth'luin may never understand, He, she, and Alixandr had. He was the true father, and He did not want to see a people that had flourished in His world become fodder for the pathetic enigma that had claimed himself to be their god. This was a projection of a true Old One's power as it gripped at the ascended monstrosity and began to pull him apart into nothing but essence, absorbing his very matter until nothing but the few patters of blood that remained dripped in front of Arri herself. As she finally turned to face the hiding place of the siblings, all that could be seen over the shadow that covered her face was the glow of the rings in her eyes, and the ominous glow of the scarification tattoos.

The fog that had covered the particular area the escort group lifted to nothing more than a thin fog, the street and sidewalks littered with the bodies of those who had fallen victim to madness. Silence had settled within the group now. Sophie and Sammy were seemingly humbled, but Arri knew their true feelings of what had occurred. They were afraid, and they had every right in their nature to be. She would simply nod and beckon them to follow her at a distance as she placed the hood of her robe back over her head and face, “Cthulhu ilyaa. Ah nafl h' ah'lloigshogg...”


	6. Endgame

[1:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmMwjaaTbsE)

[6:42](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2_hFIMsIB4)

_**Chapter 5: Endgame** _

Everything seemed awfully well for her right now. She'd just taken a really great nap. And now, even waking up from it, she felt like she was at peace enough to fall into another. There was no bad dream this time. No one had gotten hurt. She didn't have to deal with the sounds of her mother sparring with that big woman she simply called 'Re'. Her father wasn't telling her weird stories, her big brother wasn't cursing at their father, and she couldn't hear Vosh screaming about messing up all the time. This was...too peaceful.

She opened her eyes, but all she would see around her was white, a shade even lighter than her own coat. It was strange, and it began to hurt her eyes, so she closed them again for a few minutes, “Eyes hurt, mama...” she mumbled as she rubbed them with two balled fists. She groaned a bit, wondering if she'd get a reply, but wouldn't. Instead she'd begin to hear strange, almost foreign noises. Something was chirping, it sounded like water was running in a creek, wind seemed to be blowing, but yet she didn't feel as though she'd moved.

She opened her eyes once more, expecting to be met with a blinding white light again, but it was far from that. No, instead she slowly opened her eyes to take in what looked like a place she'd never visited before, yet it also felt so familiar. The ground below her feet was soft, so she sat down. It almost tickled a bit as she did, she even ran her fingers through it to feel the sensation again. She thought she remembered reading about this on her mother's many computers, “G-...gr-...grass? Grass!” she exclaimed to herself as she tried pulling at it some, disappointed as nothing seemed to uproot. She pouted, “Fake grass...” as it was not natural grass, but an artificial replication of it, but everything around her seemed so real!

She clumsily got back up onto her feet and ran around the fake grass a bit, enjoying the feeling until she suddenly felt herself run into what felt like a wall- no, a monitor, like the ones that were in her mother's work place. She knocked on it a bit, the scenery distorting a bit as the trees and water turned to static for a split second. She sighed, her small hand dragging against the screen as she began to walk and try to trace it to its end. She would come to discover that it was merely a ring of monitors, confining her to this fake valley, and so she went to sit back down where she'd originally woken up from her nap at.

“Mama? Papa? Ven? Vosh?” she called out in hopes someone would hear her. She'd receive no reply to her calls, sniffling a bit as she felt alone. How did she end up here? The sounds of everything being simulated around her were calming, but she would rather be scared and with her family than alone as peaceful. This wasn't a natural feeling. A bad dream seemed tame in comparison to the ominous absence of those she loved. Not long after her wallowing, the screens turned to static. But this was not normal static. She thought she could hear the sounds of voices, but they were faint and she could not make out the words.

She stood up again, even the grass she stood on took on the appearance of static. She grimaced, wanting to leave, but then as if it was planned, she could see the entire city around and below her, as if she was flying. But...she could not see any one, just every thing. It confused her. She wanted to call out for someone to help her, but she knew that even if she tried it would not merit a response. The view of the city began to fade into nothing, as if it was pulling her into a strange void, something similar to how her bad dreams started, “Ashir,” echoed the voice of something or someone familiar, “Ashir, are you finally awake?” The voice was somewhat monotone, as if drained, “Ashir?”

“...papa?” she asked as she turned around a few times, trying to find where the voice of her father was coming from.

“Ashir, I need you to listen to me, don't be afraid. Do you remember the stories I told you?”

“Yes, papa.”

“This is like one of them,” he began as her view of Novus City suddenly zoomed in at a rapid pace, causing her to become disoriented for a few seconds, stumbling over on herself. When it finally came to a stop, she was face to face with her father, his scarification tattoos glowing gently, the golden rings in his eyes a deeper shade, “Ashir, do you remember the poems and chants I used to teach you?”

She simply nodded, pulling her hood over her head to try and hide her face. Although she knew what her father looked like, especially the scars, this was a face that was new to her. She wasn't quite scared, but she wasn't confident enough in herself to look up at him, knowing what was to come next, “Papa, your face is...”

“Scary? I'm aware, but you don't need to be afraid. I can't have you be afraid. Remember what I used to tell you about being fearful of something that doesn't truly scare you?” he asked, awaiting a simple response.

“...yes, papa. I remember,” she spoke softly, gently pulling her hood back off of her head, letting her white and deep maroon locks finally show themselves to him again.

“That's my beautiful third child, my youngest daughter who I care for so much. You look just like your mother when she was your age. Now, remember: follow my words exactly and try to remember them for yourself. Do not be afraid, close your eyes if you need to. I'll be here, Ashir.”

Ashir nodded silently, standing back up onto her feet slowly as she brought her small hands together, then pushing them apart with only her finger tips touching, then held them in that fashion, “Will this work, papa?”

“For all of our sakes, Ashir...I hope it does.”

* * *

The twin sliding doors began to open with a heavy hiss, as if it was decompressing the chamber it sealed. Within moments, a harsh breeze of cold, dry air swept into the cart, blowing in any unsettled dust that was caught in it, but everything was still dark, “Hm...colder than I remember,” began the voice of Ventus as he took a few steps into the dark, “If that's the case, then either we've shifted to another location on the planet or Alixandr- erm...dad has already started with both his and Ashir's roles.” He continued to step forward, taking note of a bright stream of light that was creeping through what he was assuming to be the main entrance to this place.

“What's Ashir have to do with this?” immediately questioned Vosh as she shielded her still sensitive eyes to what felt like natural light, “She's a kid. She shouldn't have any role in this.” She took a few steps forward as well to catch up and meet her twin brother, “Answer me, Ven.”

“Her role is the same as ours, as dad's, as his sibling's. You and I, however, are not needed for what they're doing. It's safer for her to do what he's having her do than be down here with us on the surface.”

“She's getting involved in something not even I want to be involved in, but have no choice at this point.”

“You're not seeing the b-”

“I don't care, Ventus!” She exclaimed as she threw a harsh punch at her brother's bicep, successfully giving him deadarm for a few seconds.

“Geez...!”

“I think I made my point clear,” she stated with sass, folding her arms and proceeding to walk ahead of Ventus, immediately regretting the action as the stream of natural light suddenly blinded her as a gust flung the entrance doors open, “Fuck...!” She screeched as she shielded her arms with her hands. The two continued to walk despite the light, now out onto the destroyed streets of what used to be a great city.

Their boots almost seemed to sink into the ground as the brittle concrete and dirt they stood on crumbled with each step. The noticeable crunching from their steps echoed off of the still deteriorating structures that once were sky scrapers, now nothing but pillars of memory to a past world. They were dwarfed in comparison to the behemoth city that stood on stilts above them, that dark prism they called home, “...it's so ominous. People used to live here, and yet it feels so lifeless,” Vosh commented as she drew her sidearm, priming the power and holding a finger on the trigger as she looked around.

“There's reason for that, but it's nothing we need to worry about at the moment. Look,” Ventus said as he looked up and pointed to the area around the perimeter of Novus City's shadow, “I don't suppose you've ever seen that kind of weather, have you?” He didn't expect an answer as he saw her eyes widen at the sign of what most would call snow. Truthfully it wasn't that, not quite. The atmosphere outside of Novus City wasn't exactly natural, and the white flakes that fell gently around their home was more salt than ice, “Interesting that this stuff hasn't rusted the surface of Novus City. Guess we have engineering and advancement in science to thank for that.”

He turned towards what could only be assumed to be the center of Novus City's surface equivalent, taking note to himself the towering locations of both the secondary and tertiary support column buildings. He slung his rifle under his arm and to his front, priming the chamber with a heavy cock, “Guess we should start heading to the objective, then. Just follow me, Vosh. And...don't try to look in the deep cracks.”

Vosh mocked her brother as she began following him, taking heed of his word to not look below them as they walked. Despite the surface ruins feeling dead and empty, she felt something inside of her telling her otherwise. And despite her trying to shake this feeling off, she couldn't help but let it bother her as they continued to trek, “...don't tell me I'm-”

“Hearing voices?”

“How'd y-”

“Past lives echoing through the ground where their bodies were dragged down into, their madness eternal as you can hear them beg for salvation.”

“That's a little more deep than I was getting at-”

“Their souls are stuck in this city. They thought, at the beginning of it all happening, this was their 'Rapture'. Instead it was the opposite, and its our peoples' fault,” Ventus explained as he vaulted over a half crushed vehicle, “It's why Vythica-...mom chose to work with the original builders of Novus City to expand it into what it is now. She knew one day we'd have to face our past. We couldn't run from it forever. What do you hear?”

“I hear...children, mothers, fathers...families being taken, separated. Lots of crying, suffering, anger...” Vosh rambled as she vaulted over the vehicle as well, “I don't understand this, to be honest. It feels like something we shouldn't be hearing, but yet with dad being who he is, I feel remorse for them. Like I have to be the one to free their past lives so they can finally rest.”

“And why do you think you feel that way?”

“Well I'm assuming it's because we're not actually Alphas, not fully anyways. Which would explain why we can speak and understand R'lyehian without any negative effects, but if we speak it around mom...”

Ventus nodded, but did not reply as he assumed his sister had the right idea now. Their objective wasn't all too far now, and as if it were queued as they approached within a certain perimeter, a thick, heavy fog began to settle in around them, “We're almost at the center. Where it all began.”

“And do you think it'll end here, too?”

“You, me, and everyone else will be damned for eternity if it doesn't.”

“I heard Hell is nice this time of year.”

“Shut up...”

* * *

He stood outside of what he used to think was just an abandoned facility, with only one actual way in and out, no secret entrances, no tunnels, no particularly accessible windows. He used to think it was just a server building of sorts, or what used to be a server building. Maybe it also housed the old workings of a steam plant, he wouldn't be able to draw that conclusion, though. He did know one thing that was factual at this particular time: they would be coming, and it was his duty to fend them off until Alixandr...his past life's brother...was finished.

The images that flashed through his head every night he slept were implanted to make him think that everything that happened in the past was meant to drive him towards warding off Alixandr's people. He experienced visions of the city below them crumbling to the might of something he could not see, of him herding the immigrating masses into the slums while things continued to be sorted, of him gassing and firing on crowds. Each of those visions ended in a sudden black out.

He had no doubt that he was indeed a clone of his past selves, but he had come to terms with it. Those lives were not his, this life now was. The more he talked to Alixandr about it all, the more he realized that despite the history, they were once brothers. Not by blood, perhaps, but by a strong bond and promise. The events that unfolded that threw his world then into what it is now were by no means Alixandr's own fault, but his as well. And now he felt the need to mend those faults.

The metallic roads and paved walkways he stood on began to tremor slightly, moisture forming on their surfaces, an unnatural drizzle beginning to sprinkle overhead. The twins were approaching closer to their rendezvous point, Alixandr had finally contacted his youngest child, and Arri, the girl he thought was the cause of this repeat of history, was now in place, “Sophie, Sam, what's your status?” he questioned over the simple communications radio that rested in his ear, “Answer me, girls...”

There was static for a few minutes as the drizzle intensified to a more consistent and thicker fall. He sighed a bit, thinking that maybe something had happened to the two thresher siblings...though that was simply the cover up. He reached for both of his sidearms, though that was what he called them. They were, in reality, more akin to hand cannons, able to fire the same caliber rounds as the Enforcers used in their rifles. With a simply flick of both of his thumbs, both of the weapons hummed to life as he heard the faint screeches and thrashing of the approaching targets.

Static filled his comms still, the crowd approaching closer and closer until he could hear the sounds of many of them scratching at the surfaces of building. He growled, knowing he didn't have much time left, “Sophie, Sam, respond to me. Now! That's an order!” Static continued to feed through his comms, “Forget it!” The silhouetted wolf exclaimed as he focused on the shapes he could barely now make out in the continuous heavy drizzle, many of them able to be identified as Ngirrth'luin by the faint glowing that came from their patterns, and others would-be anarchists by the garb and luminescent paint.

“...-nter! Busy trying t-” the voice of Sophie cut in over the static for a few moments, followed by the sound of an ear deafening firearm having its trigger pulled, “-ot your lu-...-ou! Sam says you-...-nner!”

The crowd was now within visible distance, many standing back while some continued to trudge forward, jaws hung open, drooling liquids thicker than the unnatural rain itself, only able to be compared to a slime, especially from those who were born in R'lyeh. But even they stopped some distance away as they continued to screech, growl, gargle, “Well, what are you all standing so far back for, huh?” the wolf questioned as he aimed his firearms at them, switching targets in a constant yet fluid fashion, “Don't tell me whoever has a hold on you suddenly came up with rules.”

“H' gof'n ph'nglui wgah'n ahagl-” began one of the Ngirrth'luin in front, but was cut short by a single, aimed shot to the cranium, his body falling lifeless onto the ground as the wound cauterized from the sheer heat of the round passing through his flesh and bone. The others in the crowd watched as his corpse sprawled out onto the ground, looking back over towards the wolf as they all began to growl and gargle in unified anger.

“Sorry, don't care for that kind of foul language around here. If you're looking for your actual home, it'd be thata'way,” he taunted as he pointed towards the center of the city with the firearm he'd just pulled the trigger with. While some remained in place, others began to try and overpower him. Like an orchestrated scene, he began to take down those who charged at him with precise shots to their heads and hearts, no more than two shots taken at a single individual based on their size. It almost seemed like there was no end until the crowd had been thinned out to nothing but those that stood in the back, their silhouettes familiar.

The wolf's firearms smoked at the ends of their barrels, rapidly cooling as the ominous rain sizzled against them and turned to steam. His strange, glowing eyes focused on what he thought he was making out, “...well, that would explain where you've been, Xelki. I had a feeling that the crowd was thinning faster than I could pull the triggers on my two best friends.”

A few gunshots flashed in the distance near where the last row of supposed Hollows remained watching, leaving only the one that took those shots up and walking. The silhouette approached slowly, even slinging their rifle behind their back, it becoming more apparent that the shape was more feminine, though clad in armored padding around the legs and feet, “Well from what I remember you saying about you 'getting too old for this job', I figured you'd need a hand.”

“I have no idea what you could mean,” he snarled as he holstered his firearms, powering them down as he turned back to face the building that Alixandr continued his business within.

“Don't bullshit yourself, Hunter. Or should I still refer to you as 'Captain'?” Xelki mocked as she approached his side, a series of visible scars on her arms from her fighting her way to Hunter's post.

He looked over and down at the girl, scowling a bit as he made an offhand comment, “You know Sophie's going to blame me for your injuries, correct?”

“You've dealt with worse.”

“I think the worst is still to come. Alixandr and the others have already been at this since we first arrived. The city is drenched at this point. If I remember his explanation correctly, we'll be dealing with facing something I won't be able to see or hear,” Hunter explained calmly in a monotone fashion, arms folded across his wet jacket, “I'm sure it'll be different for you and your people. I just hope you'll be able to withstand the supposed stress of it.”

“You mean...he's attempting to do it again?” Xelki questioned as she looked towards the center of the city, “I mean I've only read about it in books-”

“The books are misleading. Majority of our historical data in the city's network is false in some way or another. The real information lies with your people themselves, more specifically the old man's bloodline. Only he knows what really happened back then...and me, to an extent,” Hunter rambled on as the ground they stood on shook once more, “Unlike what my past lives did, I intend to actually contribute to helping Alixandr and Vythica. My people in the city, we have our own history that conflicts with what your people say, but I think we'll all benefit if our separate histories became a single one. Don't you agree?”

Xelki looked up at Hunter in a bit of confusion as she allowed what he just explained to process in her mind, eventually raising her brows as she nodded in agreement, “So what about-”

“The twins?”

“I was gonna ask about Vythica, but them too.”

“Vythica, along with her right hand, tasked themselves with getting her youngest daughter to a similar building like this, but to the north. Alixandr's sister, the one even I was tricked into thinking this was all her doing, was told to take the southeast point. Alixandr chose the southwest. The twins are on the surface-”

“Why are Vosh and Ventus on the surface?!” she exclaimed, nearly grabbing hold of Hunter's jacket and pulling him down to meet her at eye level, resisting the action to do so, however.

“In line, soldier! Don't think that because they're your friends that I'm going to act so lenient on your actions due to emotional outbursts. Their choice to travel the surface is due to their abilities in combat, and moreover Vosh's sensitivity to your supposed 'god'.”

“They're going to get killed, you're aware of that, right?”

Hunter simply sighed as he turned to face the center of the city, “Be that as it may, it's out of my control. Believe me, it bothers me as much as you to see the city that I help maintain be sucked into something we thought was done and in the past. Funny that it's snowing again outside of the city walls, though. I remember it snowing the first time as well...”

* * *

Everything was beginning to get colder. The supposed snow that was falling around the colossal prism's perimeter was becoming thicker, some of it even blowing underneath towards the center, from each way. Something was gathering. The silent buildings began to hum and roar from the strange winds now flowing through them, like woodwind instruments constructed from concrete, glass, and steel. The broken and open windows of the once-were skyscrapers acted as the note pads, the hollow interiors of them the wind chamber, and the bases of them the bell of each instrument. It seemed beautiful for a moment, even peaceful, but the hums and whistles soon turned to cries of a past world's apocalypse.

Buildings that once barely held themselves together began to finally crumbled on themselves, their dust filled the air around the old, abandoned neighborhoods. Some fell onto others, creating a domino effect. All of this occurred outside of Novus City's shadow. Things that were even somewhat green around their immediate zone began to fade to yellows, browns, and grays, blending in with the lifeless ruins.

The strangest part of all of this: aside from the strange cold, the environment here was...familiar. She could remember her own city's old buildings, that old, craggy tower she grew up in, the seemingly lifeless atmosphere, but all of that was always offset by those she grew up with and the faces she got to see every so often, and that was enough then. She only wished it was the same now that she was seemingly reliving what she only assumed was a nightmare, “...maybe I'll wake up again, soon,” she mumbled as she caught up to her brother, standing beside him.

“Well...this is it. The center...” Ventus mentioned as he took a deep breath, exhaling with just as much depth, I'd say to not look down, but I have a feeling you're already doing so.” And he had reason to want Vosh not to look, for all she'd end up seeing is a sinkhole with no visible end and a circumference as large as half a city block, “This is where everything started. This is where we all came from. And now it'll be where it ends.”

Vosh peered over the edge a bit, almost losing her balance, only saved by the swift grace of her brother's instinct, “Nngh...! Oh, wow, thank you Ven,” she said with a heavy breath, “I don't get it. It's just a giant hole.”

“It's not just a hole. I'd say look again more closely, but please don't. This 'sinkhole' isn't a sinkhole. Notice how perfectly cut out it is. It's not natural. This 'hole'...it's a missing piece of this world, lost between here and R'lyeh. It's strange to explain, but hear me out on it,” Ventus began as he took a seat on some rubble behind him away from the edge of the gigantic hole, “The Exodus was a mass migration from R'lyeh to here, our new home. How mom and dad managed to open a gateway to here is beyond me, but I do know this: it isn't without consequence. R'lyehian rituals demand sacrifice in some way or another. What that sacrifice is can be debated forever, but it cannot be a sacrifice from one point. It has to be from both.”

Vosh had seated herself beside her twin brother, kicking some rocks into the hole to see if maybe they'd hit something eventually, but she heard nothing, “But...how would that work? It's not like we had any of our peeps here on Earth before that all happened.”

Ventus nodded, “You're not wrong for assuming that. You see, dad had a foster brother of sorts when he first walked this place. He taught him a lot of what he knows, some of that stuff he forgot when he was 'pulled' back to R'lyeh. Do you have an idea of who that 'brother' was?”

“...did dad have a twin?”

Ventus shook his head, “I just said foster brother, step brother if you will. He was adopted into the guy's family, and the guy was named...well, Hunter. Hunter Scott.”

Vosh's face drained a bit, “...Hunter isn't actually Hunter, is he?”

“Yes and no; Hunter is Hunter, in fact he's the third iteration of Hunter. He's a clone, but he carries memories of his past lives. It was part of the first Hunter's plan, to see to that his 'brother' fix what he didn't intend to happen. But I'm straying away from the point I'd trying to make about sacrifices for this whole mess,” Ventus took a deep breath, knowing that Vosh wouldn't be prepared for what was to be explained next, “A gateway demands sacrifice from both ends of a location. Our migration to Earth wasn't a by-chance roll of the dice. This world's side of the gateway was Hunter the first. Our world's side was...Qi'ara.”

Vosh was silent for a moment before she found her head in the palms of her hands, against her lap, a quivering sigh heard from her. Qi'ara was the woman that helped raise them on a bit more personal level when they lived in the Brood Tower. Despite her duties simply being to see that Vosh and Ventus ate, bathed, and trained when they needed to, she went beyond that, almost as if acting in place of Vythica, as those were the original requests of Vythica for her, “She was our mom while we were kept away from mom, Ven...did- did you let dad do it?”

Ventus shook his head, pulling his sibling close, “No, I screamed and begged our parents to choose someone else, but it wasn't them who chose Qi'ara. As hard as it is to accept, Vosh, Qi'ara voluntarily took the place of our side of the gateway's sacrifice. She was a strong willed, stubborn woman. You should remember that. You couldn't tell her no.”

“And that's what always got us in trouble.”

“All the more reason for you to help me take this on.”

Vosh nodded as she picked her head up, her cheek fur moist with slowly drying, lukewarm tears. Her brother had a point, now wasn't the time for emotional outbursts. He needed her for whatever it was they'd be taking on here soon, and the time to take action was approaching closer.

She could hear the sounds of an ocean's waves crashing against a wall, the scent of brine beginning to fill the area as the snow that blew around became thicker, enveloping the area around the sinkhole in a cold, bitter fog. The cracks beneath their feet began to leak salt water, a strange, dark maroon glow able to be seen through them. Something was making its approach to this world, and these signs did not set the mood for its visit being friendly. From down below in the sinkhole could be seen a rising level of water of a deep, murky green. It reeked of brine. It made both of their eyes water with disgust.

Within minutes the water had risen to meet the edge of the hole, pouring over ever so slightly as it stopped, causing a thin layer of water to begin covering the entirety of the surface city's ground. He could vaguely remember walking out into this world when he was a child, it was the same way, as if this gigantic pit had sucked in majority of the world's oceans. But it was not this world's ocean that had risen this time, it was R'lyeh's, and it was colder than the snow that had been falling over the city.

From each apex of the base of the city could be seen a deep maroon glow similar to the one beneath their feet. Their work up there was completed, now all that remained was their objective, “Vosh,” started Ventus as he turned to face her for a moment, “Look at me, please.”

She nodded and turned to face her twin brother, a look of shivering confidence on his face, “What's up?”

“If he tries that thing again, you know what path to follow.”

“Yeah, I do...don't worry about me, will you? Let's focus on ending this, not just for our people, but everyone.”

They both nodded in acknowledgment of each others advice before turning to face the approaching target, weapons in hand as they stood shivering from the cold. Never did they think they'd be facing something like this in their lives. It didn't feel real at that moment. But as the ground began to tremble, and those glowing cracks in the ground began to emit a radiant, cold light, reality struck them back into place. He was here, and now it was their time to finally do what their people were truly born to do.

[[Closer]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MS93uSyxaGY) The sinkhole that had turned into a salty lake suddenly geysered, erupting into a pillar of liquid that even hit the base of Novus City. It came crashing back down in a uniform fashion back into the pit that it shot out from until the water seemed to retreat back beneath ground level, an eery silence settling into the world once more as the winds died out, leaving only the thick snow to fall around the dead city. Voices could not be heard anymore, even the water that still crashed and spread around was silent as it began to approach the surface once more, but slower than before. At the center of the lake formed a pitch black hole, slowly growing in size as the water approached the edge of the sinkhole once more. There was no color inside of that place, pitch black like the cosmos, light consumed as if it were a black hole, but something began to emerge from it.

The first sign of that supposed 'allfather', that wicked being that had manipulated their people since their birth, was a pair of horns, followed by multiple other pairs of cragged, unevenly formed horn. He was finally here again, and he was eager to enter it as the multitude of eyes that lined the entirety of his upper cranium took in the sight of his new hunting ground. The hole from which he slowly grew from grew larger in diameter. His tattered wings spread onto the surface, crashing through the rubble that got in their way. Even now with just his upper bust exposed, he towered above the twins by over six feet, the constantly peeling and regrowing flesh and skin of his leaving them disgusted. He caught sight of the twins, a devious, unhinged jaw smile growing on his figure as he began to force one of his arms out, it crashing onto the ledge of the lake before them. But he would not see to that he made it out into this world.

 _“Mgathg!”_ echoed the words of three throughout the quiet city, each voice a different pitch and tone.

 _“Mgathg!”_ they chanted in unity once more until it became apparent that it was to become a pattern, a shout from each.

 _“Mgathg Ngirrth'lu!”_ could be heard from the youngest, Ashir, from the north.

 _“Mgathg uh'enyth!”_ screamed the voice of Arri, the successor, from the southeast.

 _“Mgathg legethog gnaiih!”_ roared the voice of Alixandr, the first Harbinger, from the southwest.

It was at this point that the ever growing portal that Ngirrth'lu began his ascent out of suddenly shrunk, binding him in place over the lake, causing him to screech in a pitch that the twins could not even pick up on, his single arm slamming a fist onto the water's surface, as if it'd become a solid ground. This was their chance, and it was the beginning of their opportunity to finally attempt to free their city of its past.

Ngirrth'lu's vision never strayed from the twins, even as they split up, all of his wandering eyes following them wherever they approached from. Ventus had taken to Ngirrth'lu's right, and Vosh his left. Was this a poor choice? That was for the twins to discover as they began to take shots at the cranium of the false idol. Their weapons were different from their normal arsenal. The same handcannon-like sidearms that Hunter used were not only capable of firing higher caliber, rifle type rounds, but were able to be outfitted with railgun-like barrels and cartridges, and so the choice was obvious for Vosh.

The girl took aim at a row of eyes, balancing her sights with her blade as she pulled the trigger, immediately blowing away and popping nearly 3 eyes off of the beast. He roared in pain as he attempted to sweep at Vosh with his left arm, and hopefully impale her. This would not be the case. The girl had already tapped into her adrenaline glands, an abundance of energy and strength flowing through the girl as her patterns and the rings in her eyes began to glow brightly. As if she'd seen the attack coming, she vaulted above the beasts arm, stabbing her blade into his flesh as she grabbed hold and began to scale the monstrosity's limb.

From the other side, Ventus had already been pelting the beast with an array of incendiary, hollow pointed, and rail rounds, the bone in Ngirrth'lu's shoulder exposed and cauterized, unable to regrow. But his ammo reserves were beginning to run short, “Vosh! His head!” he shouted over at his sister that was now rodeoing the beasts arm as he continuously tried to throw her off, but with no luck, “She's gonna get too tired too quick if she keeps trying to hold on like that!” Ventus growled deeply as he raised his rifle again, continuing his assault on the beast, pelting the monster with whatever he had until he was empty. But not all hope was lost in this.

From above he saw what he believed were a set of six glowing, orange wings. It wasn't what he was expecting for help, but it had to do. Within moments it seemed as though those wings had reached him faster than the speed of sound, and he guessed it right, “Molly! What the hell are you doing down here?!”

“I'm helpin' you, ya goof! Here, take these things!” the tiny Fen-Chi shouted as she tossed Ventus both a heavy case and a strange radio. Within moments she'd taken off again, zooming back up to the base of Novus City until that iconic set of mechanical wings disappeared from sight altogether.

 _“So I figured out a way around the city's communications networks, and, as primal as it is, it's AM/FM radio waves!”_ exclaimed Oxye over the strange radio speaker, _“I can't believe I didn't think of it before. But hey, not too late now is it?”_

“Oxye, what th- okay, no time for questions I guess. What the hell did you send Molly down here to give me these things for?”

_“Well I figured since you're ACTUALLY fighting an ACTUAL Great Old One, or what I thought was one, or is one, I'm not too sure really. Is he re-”_

“Oxye!”

_“Right, right, well it's...well I call it the 'Endgame'. Open the case, see for yourself. That's where majority of my R &D funding went...by order of the Head Councilor, of course.”_

Ventus merely snarled as he unlocked the case, it hissing open then opening rapidly to reveal what looked like a non functional weapon, “...you're fucking with me, aren't you?” Ventus asked rhetorically as he turned to fire off what rail rounds he had left in his rifle, successfully depleting his reserves, “Oxye, I don't have time to look over your latest weapon prototype model. I need something func-”

[[Turbo Killer]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wy9r2qeouiQ) Ngirrth'lu had swung his arm full circle, his shoulder even disjointing itself to do as he attempted to strike at Ventus, narrowly missing him, Vosh still slowly trying to scale the beast with only her blade, taking wild shots at his cranium whenever he stopped swinging.

 _“Look, 'Endgame' isn't a prototype. It's a fully functional rifle designed and fitted for you. Look at the size of that th-”_ static filled the radio for a second _“-sically just need to know this: it condenses the air into its chamber like a...what did they call it, a turbo? It compresses, not condenses, yeah. And it keeps building it up until you have nothing but a superheated disc of air that can, and has, cut straight through-”_

Ventus nodded and stuffed the radio into his pocket as he grabbed for the weapon, powering it on and letting it rapidly charge a shot as he took aim, planting his feet as he expected heavy recoil based on its design. He awaited the perfect opportunity, taking aim at Ngirrth'lu's neck. As the beast flailed its arm upwards, he shouted to his sibling, “Vosh, jump now!”

From where Vosh was now, which she assumed to be the elbow of the towering Great One, she could vaguely hear the shout from her brother, squinting her eyes as she tried to make sense of what he meant by 'jump now'. As Ngirrth'lu's arm approached the apex of its swinging arc, she realized what he meant. There was a bright orange glow from the barrel of whatever Ventus was aiming, and rather than be caught in the crossfire of that and being slammed onto the somehow solid water surface, she jumped towards Ngirrth'lu's head. Ventus's weapon fired as she did so, piercing straight through and setting the Old One's neck on fire, as if it spontaneously combusted from the sheer heat alone.

All of this netted her the rarest and most opportunistic shot at bringing her blade to where it belonged, and why she was chosen to receive it. Almost as if the moment was stretched out, and if she was watching herself from a distance, she saw herself plummet head first towards the cranium of Ngirrth'lu, her sacrificial great knife aimed directly at the center of the beast's head, but as she approached closer, all of the monster's eyes directed themselves to look directly back into her glowing focus, “Vosh, don't look into his-...!”

Her vision went dark, but her eyes were still open, and as she felt her blade finally pierce deep into the brain of Ngirrth'lu, she felt herself twist and turn the blade to create a deep hole of vengeance, but yet...it didn't feel as if she was free. Her body continued to fall, still holding onto the blade as it dragged itself through the beast's skull until it finally felt as though there was nothing left for it to grip onto. Everything seemed like it was slowing down. Her eyes were still open, but yet she was still unable to see. She felt her body crash onto something solid, but she felt no pain, but when she tried moving, she could tell that something was dislocated, and so she laid there.

It was almost as if she was helpless, just like she was when she was a child before he trapped her, as a punishment to her mother. The adrenaline rush was beginning to fade. She could feel the heavy weight of the beast she thought she'd slayed cause the ground beneath her to tremble. The pain was excessive in both her left wrist and left leg. She wanted to scream and cry in pain, but...nothing. Just a pitch black abyss.

[[Cicatrice]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOn3y5FU7HQ) There was a light that she could see vaguely. She'd been here before. She began to approach the faint light, like she'd been reminded to before, but yet there it was again, the brighter light. She knew she shouldn't take it, it was a trap, no salvation. That is how he trapped her the first time, but there was a difference here this time. If she had truly slain the physical portion of him, then all that was left was to rid him of this world truly. He could not affect the mind of more than one when he trapped his own conscious in an individuals, and that is what made him weak. She approached the brighter light, despite the faint light beckoning to her as hard as it could.

She caught up to the brighter light and grabbed at it. It was her weapon set, her blade, “Did you call to me?”

 _“Mgathg Ngirrth'lu...”_ it seemingly spoke to her, and she knew what it meant as it felt like the pitch black abyss screamed at her. Within yards in front of her spawned the mutilated cranium of Ngirrth'lu. He wasn't finished.

 _“Legeth'drn gof'n!”_ his vision howled at her as he retreated some distance from her. He was smaller here. Why was that?

“This is my mind, you disgusting excuse for a god. We're on an even playing field. You made me break my wrist and dislocate my leg. You really think I'm going to let anything you say break me?!” she exclaimed as she readied her blade, beginning to jog towards the head of Ngirrth'lu. From nowhere he seemed to spawn both of his arms, preparing himself to strike at Vosh as she approached. He'd swing his left horizontally at the girl, attempting to knock her back. His intention was not to kill her, but to keep her trapped here with him, like he almost had when she was a child.

She narrowly avoided the swing as she slid under the arm, sliding the edge of her blade along it as an insult to his poor tactics. As she recovered back up onto her feet, his let arm vanished, reappearing closer to his head. Her jog turned to a sprint. She had no intention of waiting a lifetime sentence here again. The beast opened its maw, releasing what she could only presume were projectiles of sorts, but were leeches, intended to trap and slow her. The poor attempt left her more than enough room to shuffle and run around while taking wild shots at the beasts face with her side arm, leaving him to scream and cover himself with his left arm, “You're as weak as you were the first time. You're as much of an opportunistic bitch as I am!”

She continued to sprint towards his vision, his right arm now attempting to knock her away, resulting in the same action, and him pulling it closer to his face. At this point it was harder to tell who was more scared, but the amount of ferocity that radiated off of Vosh's person made it obvious who. The beast continued to try and shield itself against the pelting of shots as Vosh approached closer. His vision began to downsize as she approached, as if he was trying to escape, but that wasn't the case, “Like I said, this is my mind,” she taunted as she now towered above the one who once towered above her, “I don't like liars or cheats, and you...you're worse than that. You tried enslaving my people, my mother, me! You tried manipulating our way of life for your selfishness, but you knew we 'Scholars' existed, and when we first contacted the one that actually saw what potential we really had as a people, you tried changing that fate. And it's landed you here in this situation. You're not our father. There's only one and I'm furious with myself and my people that you convinced us otherwise. 'Cthulhu ilyaa', it wasn't nice knowing you, Ngirrth'lu.”

The girl thrust her blade once more at the head of Ngirrth'lu, twisting and pushing it around to make it the last pain he'd never remember, and left it planted inside of his lifeless cranium. His arms faded away, his vision slowly melted into nothing, like what he was born from. To her left she could see that faint, dim light again. Was she really ready? She let out a deep breath and began to approach the dim light once more.

The pain in her wrist and leg still existed, but it was more subtle now, as if they'd healed a bit since. Her eyes were still open, she could feel how dry they were as her vision began to come back to her. She tried wiggling the fingers in her left hand, unable to do so as she felt them bundled and bound by something thick. She wanted to say something, but she still could not bring herself to do so for some reason. Her vision finally returned. She felt something warm holding her right hand tightly, and she was surprised to see what it was. Her mother, Vythica, had removed her weapons to finally hold her oldest daughter's hand for the first time since...ever.

She closed her eyes after having them open for so long again and spoke, weakly, “I did it, mom. _We_ did it. How many years passed since?”

Her mother did not say anything initially, merely gripping her right hand tighter with a light hearted chuckle, “It's been less than a week. You're back home. In _your_ home that you worked for, my beautiful firstborn...”

Vosh grimaced a bit, “Fuck...mom, I thought you cared. I don't like this place anymore. It's gross and reeks of my rat neighbor that lives next door.”

“You understand your home is my home, correct? You and your siblings all live with me and your father for now. We're a family again until you...” Vythica swallowed a small lump, “Until you and your siblings feel as though you're ready to live on your own again. I don't want to force you to stay, but please try to stay as long as you can for me, for all of us. I thought I'd lost you again, Vosh. I- I thought I would have to wait for you to wake up, and I wouldn't be able to stand that. You...your siblings, all of you. I'm so proud of you all. So much so that I've stepped down from Head Councilor. The city's government is now the people's.”

“Mom...” Vosh sighed, “You didn't-”

“But I did, Vosh. The city is in good hands now. My role is finished, our family's role is finished. We can live normally now. Our people can finally do what they want without fear, whether that be within the city itself or to go and find new land to grow.”

Vosh sat up slowly, groaning a bit at the thought of Ngirrth'luin trying to find new places to live, “But it's a wasteland out there. There's no realistic places to develop a new city.”

Vythica smiled, “Oh, but there is. The curse of this city's past no longer holds power over this world. City planners have already began to investigate restoring the surface city to its former and future glory. Which reminds me of my last order, or rather poll, to rename Novus City for future reference. The votes came in today. Welcome to New R'lyeh, Vosh. Our new, permanent home.”


	7. Epilogue: Mere Children

[0:59](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6i23f-bcHIA)

_**Epilogue: Mere Children** _

_The boy who thought himself capable of the weight he bore._

_The girl who burdened herself with unrealistic expectations._

_The woman who thought herself too independent to lead her people._

_The boy whose memories have never died from life to life._

_The girl who is still yet to awaken._

_The boy who restrains himself for the sake of his siblings._

_The girl who merely wanted her family to be whole again._

_The boy that swindled himself into a life of technologic crime and business._

_The girl who still cannot truly see._

_The monstrosity that thought itself a god._

_The siblings who were not siblings, but one in the same._

_The girl that could not face her destiny on her own._

_The city that fell, rose, fell, and rose once more._

_The people that sought freedom and acceptance._

_The family that was destined to denounce their peoples' mental enslavement._

_The bloodline that is no longer cursed._

_The world that is now free for any that seek to make theirs. But not without hesitation. For wherever you or they go, They will be watching. Do not fear Their influence. They simply remain curious, of the young ones that live on, the mere children that seek answers. Answers they cannot find, lest they seek to lose everything they've worked for._


End file.
